Scotland and Europe, Scotland in Europe [1 ed.] 9781443807043, 9781847181008

Citation preview

Scotland and Europe, Scotland in Europe

Scotland and Europe, Scotland in Europe

By

Gilles Leydier

CAMBRIDGE SCHOLARS PUBLISHING

Scotland and Europe, Scotland in Europe, by Gilles Leydier This book first published 2007 by Cambridge Scholars Publishing 15 Angerton Gardens, Newcastle, NE5 2JA, UK British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library Copyright © 2007 by Gilles Leydier All rights for this book reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the prior permission of the copyright owner. ISBN 1-84718-100-7

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Presentation Gilles LEYDIER.............................................................................................. viii PART I: LINKS WITH EUROPE The Scottish Parliament and the Constitutional Settlement of 1640-41: A European Case Study in Early Modern Constitutional Development John R. YOUNG..................................................................................................2 A Scottish-Style Universal Church? The Attempts at Religious Reconciliation of John Durie in Christendom, 1610-1653 Sabrina JUILLET-GARZON .............................................................................12 The French Connection: Bordeaux’s ‘Scottish’ Networks in Context, c.1670-1720 Steve MURDOCH .............................................................................................26 The Scottish School’s Contribution to the Development of European Painting: Exchanges and Interactions between Scottish and European Painters in the Eighteenth Century Marion AMBLARD...........................................................................................56 The Shadow of Ossian in Ugo Foscolo’s and Vincenzo Monti’s Works Philippe LAPLACE ...........................................................................................69 Coming to Terms with “Our Continental Comrades”: Europe and the Cultural Identity of the Early Scottish Socialist Movement William FINDLAY ............................................................................................80 Duelling Chanters: The Translation of Poetry from Galician into Scots and from Scots into Galician Ingrid Mosquera GENDE and David Clark MITCHELL ..................................91

vi

Table of Contents

PART II: VISIONS OF EUROPE “The Bloated German, the Meagre Frenchman and the Placid Dutchman”: How Blackwood’s Edinburgh Magazine saw Europe at the beginning of the Victorian Era Christian AUER ...............................................................................................108 Cummy on the Continent: Alison Cunningham’s Trip to Europe with the Stevenson Family in 1863 Lesley GRAHAM ............................................................................................118 “Somewhere that is not Scotland”: Visions of Europe in Contemporary Scottish Literature David LEISHMAN ..........................................................................................128 PART III: VOICES IN EUROPE Scottish Gaelic: An Age-Old Language in Modern Europe Jean BERTON .................................................................................................142 History Painting and Roman Celtic Heritage: Alan Robb, Ken Currie, and their Predecessors Danièle BERTON-CHARRIERE ....................................................................156 Nomad in Atopia: The Geopoetic Ethics of Kenneth White Innes KENNEDY.............................................................................................170 Two Scottish Women on the Continent: Janice Galloway’s Foreign Parts Bernard SELLIN..............................................................................................184 Muriel Spark: A European Novelist from Scotland Jacques RABIN................................................................................................193 Three Aspects of the Theatrical Link between Scotland & Europe: Along David Greig’s Europe and other Plays Jean-Pierre SIMARD .......................................................................................201

Scotland and Europe, Scotland in Europe

vii

PART IV: POLITICAL ISSUES WITHIN THE EUROPEAN UNION Scotland and the European Union: Has Devolution Changed Anything? Scottish EU Interest Representation – A Case Study Michael TATHAM ..........................................................................................214 The European Committee of the Scottish Parliament : An Important Factor in the European Process Elizabeth GIBSON...........................................................................................230 The Caledonian MacBrayne Saga: A Point of Contention between Scotland and Europe Nathalie DUCLOS ...........................................................................................245 Scottish MEPs Since 1999 Edwige CAMP .............................................................................................................. 254

The Region: An Obstacle for Scotland on the way to Europe Philippe BRILLET...........................................................................................267 Scotland’s Attitude to the European Constitution: The End of the Pro-European Era? Carine BERBERI .............................................................................................279 Is Scotland at a crossroads in view of European integration? Annie THIEC ................................................................................................................ 293

Contributors .....................................................................................................313

PRESENTATION The IVth annual conference of the Société Française d’Etudes Ecossaises, the society grouping all French academics specialized in the field of Scottish studies was held at the University of Toulon in October 2005. The aim of the conference was to explore the long-standing and multi-faceted relationship between Scotland and the societies and cultures of the European continent, in various epochs and from a large diversity of view points and problematics. During two days the conference gathered more than fifty researchers coming mostly from France, Scotland and Spain, and working in a wide range of scientific domains, from social history to art history, from language to literature, from politics to civilization and cultural studies. The interdisciplinary ambition and cross-cultural perspective are reflected in the present volume, which collects most of the contributions to the conference. The book is divided into four main sections, although the themes presented must not be considered as totally watertight. The first part of the volume explores several aspects of the exchanges, influences and interactions between Scotland and continental Europe throughout the centuries. To start with John R. Young discusses the very nature of the preunion Parliament of Scotland in relation to its remote French model and within a wider European context. Following the path of John Dury, the Scot whose dream was to establish a universal Church in Europe, Sabrina Juillet explores the religious alliances between the Church of Scotland and European reformed churches during the first part of the XVIth century. Steve Murdoch then considers Gallic-Caledonian connections across the early modern period and more particularly the Scottish network development in the Bordeaux area while also considering the impact of political upheavals on those relations. From another perspective Marion Amblard analyses the effects of the artists’ interactions on Scottish painting and European art in the XVIIIth century, taking as major examples the work of the portraitist Allan Ramsay and of the history painter Gavin Hamilton. Philippe Laplace for his part examines how Scotland and his literature proved to be a major influence on XIXth century European literature, as illustrated by the central place occupied by Scottish mythologies within the poetical imagination of continental authors like Verne, Foscolo or Monti. Exploring the roots of the cultural identity of the early Scottish socialist movement, Bill Findlay argues that far from being confined at the parochial backwater on the periphery of Europe, Scottish socialism saw itself as a major

Scotland and Europe, Scotland in Europe

ix

player inside this international movement and found some inspiration in revolutionary movements and struggles for independence on the continent. Eventually Ingrid Mosquera Gende and David Clark Mitchell give evidence of a sizeable amount of research undertaken at the University of A Coruna since a decade about the links and convergences between Galicia and Scotland and they explore the specific examples of translation from one minority language (Scots and Galician) to the other. The secont part of the volume focuses on some Scottish visions of Europe. Taking the example of Blackwood’s Edinburgh Magazine, Christian Auer illustrates how some influential parts of the Scottish Lowland society perceived European neighbouring peoples at that time and saw Celtic communities within the British Isles. The Victorian period is also in the background of Lesley Graham’contribution which reappraises Alison Cunningham’s diary and her discovery of foreign mentalities and ways of life during her extended tour of Europe with the Stevenson family. Finally David Leishman explores contemporary Scottish literature and analyses how a new generation of Scottish writers uses Europe to reassess some core elements of Scottish identity, reaffirm the cultural ties between Scotland and Europe and reassert Scotland’s place as a fully European nation. The third part of the volume concentrates on Scottish voices in Europe. The place of the Gaelic language in the European concert of nations, its recent renaissance in the Highlands in the context of the support to minority languages from the European Union, is analyzed in detail by Jean Berton. Through the study of history painting over the centuries, Danièle Berton looks for signs of Scottishness and demonstrates how contemporary Scottish artists have emblematized and promoted values and virtues that they considered not only as theirs but also as their nation’s. Innes Kennedy explores the influence of continental thought on the cosmopoetics of Kenneth White, one of the most celebrated examples of ‘Scottish European’, while reasserting White’s personal contribution to the resistance of Scottish and European postmodern literature to the homogenising forces of angloamerican neoliberal culture. Bernard Sellin studies Janice Galloway’s second novel ‘Foreign Parts’, set in France, arguing that the discovery of France is not only an invitation to travel but also a pretext for a meditation on the meaning of otherness. The interactions between Scottish and European influences and sources of inspiration are also evoked by Jacques Rabin in his study of the multi-faceted work of Muriel Spark, for whom Europe is the theatre in which a human comedy is played novel after novel but with a definitely Scottish accent and intonation. Eventually Jean-Pierre Simard pays tribute to the European dimension of contemporary theatre in Scotland, arguing

x

Presentation

that Europe has triggered the creativity of Scottish artists, and deciphering the reception of Scottish playwrights on the continent as well as the representations of Scotland conveyed. Lastly the fourth part of the volume deals with current political concerns, tackling the issue of the assertion of Scotland’s national political identity with the European Union framework in the post-devolution environment. Arguing that devolution has already had an impact on Scotland’s relations with the EU, Michael Tatham examines the case study of Scottish EU interest representation as an indicator of the nature and character of these changes, claiming that the gradual evolution of Scotland from a so-called northern English colony to an influential European nation will be partly driven by the effectiveness of its EU involvement. Elizabeth Gibson considers the specific role of the European Committee within the new Scottish Parliament at Holyrood, stressing its growing importance in the process of European integration. Nathalie Duclos closely looks at the relationships between Scottish and European institutions and between the different institutions from the angle of the ‘CalMac’ saga, which has recently given rise to a twofold debate on Scotland’s political place within Europe and within the United Kingdom. Edwige Camp’s contribution aims at assessing how Scottish interests have been defended by Scotland’s representatives since 1999 within the forum of the European Parliament whether in the devoled areas or in the reserved matters. Philippe Brillet argues that the Scottih executive has not displayed a keen interest in European matters yet, except as a support to alter Ango-Scottish relationships in its favour, one possible explanation being the lack of pertinence of the notion of euro-region promoted by the EU as applied to the Scottish case. Eventually the attitude of the Scottish opinion towards the latest developments of European integration is deeply scrutinized in the last two contributions. Carine Berberi takes the example of the recent debates on the European constitution and of the evolution of the Scottish National Party to stress the growth of some kind of euroscepticim among the Scottish population and political elites. While Annie Thiec analyzes the comprehensive institutional networks and “paradiplomacy’ that connect the Scottish political stage to the European governance, and discusses to what extent an independent Scotland, member in its own right of the EU, would have grater influence on the European decision-making process. On the whole the volume illustrates the richness and complexitiy of the dialogue between Scotland and the European continent over the centuries. Although located in the ‘outer periphery’ of the British Isles and at the geographical margins of Europe, Scotland has been constantly enriched and changed by cross-Channell influences just as Scottish values and ideas, intellectuals and

Scotland and Europe, Scotland in Europe

xi

artists, traders or politicians have taken part to continental debates and contributed to shape a common European identity throughout the ages. After 1707 the integration of Scotland within a Bristh framework and ethos that the Scots have largely contributed to forge, has not altered the European profile of Scotland, as the emblematic episods of the Enlightenment and Romanticism have notably demonstrated. Over the last decades the process of economic and political integration in Europe has struck a particular chord in Scotland: the country wished to see itself as a confident and jubilant European nation, partly as a way to outflank anglocentric pressures from the British state and in order to take distance from the growing eurosceptical tune of the London governments. Eventually the volume goes against some constricting essentialist definitions of Scottishness, which have tended to confine Scotland to a fixed, determined and monolithic nature. On the contrary it underlines the open, fluid and dynamic character of the identity process, resulting from permanent interactions within Scotland –iteself a multicultural and multilingual society- as well as between Scotland and other cultures and communities. Gilles Leydier

PART I LINKS WITH EUROPE

THE SCOTTISH PARLIAMENT AND THE CONSTITUTIONAL SETTLEMENT OF 1640-41: A EUROPEAN CASE STUDY IN EARLY MODERN CONSTITUTIONAL DEVELOPMENT JOHN R. YOUNG, UNIVERSITY OF STRATHCLYDE, GLASGOW

The relationship between monarchs and their parliaments was an important feature of the political landscape of early modern Europe and it has been subjected to some scrutiny by political and constitutional historians of early modern Europe as well as historians of individual countries.1 The 1707 Act of Union between Scotland and England resulted in the creation of the kingdom of Great Britain and the creation of a new British Parliament in London. Theoretically the Scottish and English Parliaments voted themselves out of existence, giving birth to the new British Parliament, but in reality the new parliament in London was a de facto extension of its English predecessor.2 Until recently the study of the pre-1707 Scottish Parliament was a neglected area of study in the history of Scotland. Traditionally regarded as ‘weak’, it has been compared unfavourably with its English counterpart and Scottish political and constitutional historians of the early twentieth century continued this trend by justifying the abolition of the national parliament by the success of Scottish participation in the post-1707 British Union, Westminster as the model and mother of democracy for other countries, and by the influential role played by Scots in the British Empire.3 In recent decades, however, there has been a resurgence in serious historical research of the Parliament of Scotland, especially among younger scholars, and it would be fair to say that there has been a re-evaluation of the Parliament of Scotland and that this is an ongoing scholarly process.4 The establishment of a devolved assembly in Edinburgh, sanctioned by the democratic will of the people of Scotland in a referendum in 1997, and the construction, albeit controversial, and opening of a new Parliament building at Holyrood in Scotland’s capital, have further inspired this scholarly interest. This is reflected in the location of the History of the Scottish

Scotland and Europe, Scotland in Europe

3

Parliament Project, funded by the Scottish Executive, at the University of St. Andrews.5 There was no uniform structure for representative assemblies in early modern Europe. Single-chamber institutions existed, alongside two-chamber, three-chamber and four-chamber institutions. Furthermore, provincial assemblies (such as those in France) existed alongside national assemblies (such as the Estates General in France, although it did not meet between 1614 and 1789). Richard Bonney, a prominent historian of early modern France, has argued that “each institution has to be viewed in terms of its own relative success and failure” and that “structural differences were bound to affect the capabilities and functions of assemblies in each country”.6 It is therefore important to identify two key points that relate to the position of the Scottish Parliament within a wider continental European context. First, the Parliament of Scotland was a single-chamber unicameral institution. This was unlike the English Parliament and the Diets of Poland, Hungary, and Bohemia. The Scottish Parliament did not have separate Houses of Commons and Lords and in this structural context it was therefore a different institution from the English Parliament. Second, in common with other European assemblies the Scottish Parliament was a parliament of estates. This was derived from the French model of états. As noted by Robert Rait, the leading Scottish constitutional historian of the twentieth century, “The Parliament of Scotland, in its origin and throughout its history, was definitely and avowedly a Parliament of Estates”.7 These estates consisted of the clergy (clerical estate), the nobility (noble estate), the barons (the estate of barons or shire commissioners) and the burgesses (burghal estate). In the aftermath of the sixteenth century Reformation with its strong Calvinist impact, the clerical estate (consisting of bishops and archbishops) was particularly controversial in the seventeenth century. This was closely related to the issue of whether or not the Church of Scotland should have bishops and archbishops, in terms of a presbyterian or episcopal structure, whether or not clerics should participate in state activities, and the controversial political role played by clerics when they did participate in such activities. Officers of State (such as the Treasurer, Clerk Register and Lord Advocate), whose number was defined as eight in 1617, were also present in parliament, but they did not constitute a separate parliamentary estate.8 The succession of King James VI of Scotland to the English throne in 1603 (thereby becoming James VI and I of Scotland and England) created a new political environment in which the Scottish Parliament had to operate. The Anglo-Scottish dynastic union or the Union of the Crowns was created, but Scotland was still an independent kingdom. With the exception of incorporation into Oliver Cromwell’s English Commonwealth and Protectorate in the 1650s (in the aftermath of the Cromwellian conquest of Scotland), this is the form of

4

The Scottish Parliament and the Constitutional Settlement of 1640-41

union that existed until the 1707 Act of Union. The dynastic union resulted in absentee monarchy, with the monarch of Scotland now resident in London and the demise of the Scottish court has often been seen as having a negative impact on Scottish cultural life and the arts. Despite promising to return to Scotland every three years, James VI an I only returned to Scotland once, in 1617, prior to his death in 1625 and it took eight years for his son and successor, Charles I, to come to Scotland for his coronation as King of Scotland and the controversial 1633 Parliament. As a result of the negative effects of absentee monarchy over several decades, the dictatorial behaviour of Charles I, the political role played by clerics in the government of Scotland, and unpopular policies, especially the drive towards British uniformity in matters of religion, the Covenanters emerged as an opposition movement seeking to rectify the perceived abuses in the mismanagement of Scotland under Charles I. 9 The Covenanters’ objectives included political and constitutional reform and the demand for free parliaments (parliaments being held without royal interference) was included in the 1638 National Covenant, the document incorporating the ideology of covenanting that laid out a reordering of the relationship between God, the Scottish crown and the Scottish people. The failure of Charles I to defeat the Covenanters militarily in the First Bishops’ War of 1639 resulted in the 1639 Treaty of Berwick. The provisions of the Berwick treaty stated that a parliament was to be held in Scotland, the first since 1633. Meeting on 31 August 1639, this Parliament met in several sessions until November 1641. The Parliament of 1639-41 enacted a constitutional settlement that restricted the royal prerogative of Charles I as King of Scotland and considerably enhanced the powers of the Scottish Parliament.10 In the wider context of continental Europe in the 1640s, the Scottish constitutional settlement deserves recognition as an important settlement that curtailed the powers of the Scottish monarchy. In terms of the Bonney criteria described above, this should therefore be regarded as a ‘success’ in its own right. It should also be regarded as a ‘success’ in terms of European assemblies of the time. Within a narrower British perspective, it also provided a model of reform and evidence of parliamentary success against monarchical power for the English Parliament in London as a growing political crisis developed for Charles I as King of England. This article therefore provides an overview of the main features of this settlement as a Scottish contribution to wider debates in European history about the relationship between parliaments and monarchs. Charles I did not attend the 1639 parliamentary session that met from 31 August to 14th November, and he was represented instead by John Stewart, first Earl of Traquair, in the official capacity of King’s Commissioner. The Covenanting movement had already prepared a large amount of proposals for enactment and when Traquair saw that the royal prerogative was under attack he

Scotland and Europe, Scotland in Europe

5

prorogued the session. Important legislation that was later enacted by parliament in the 1640s had already been prepared or was in preparation in 1639. The June 1640 session, meeting from 2-11 June, met in defiance of royal authority, the Covenanters arguing that the prorogation was illegal, and the session met in the absence of a King’s Commissioner.11 The impact of legislation passed in this ten day period was profound. Sir James Balfour, a contemporary commentator noted that the parliamentary session represented: the reall grattest change at ane blow that euer hapned to this churche and staite thesse 600 years baypast; for in effecte it ouerturned not onlie the ancient state gouernment, bot fettered monarchie with chynes and sett new limitts and marckes to the same, beyond wich it was not legally to proceed’.12

In the absence of a royal commissioner, the estates took the unprecedented step of electing their own president. Robert Balfour, second Lord Burleigh, a Covenanting nobleman, was elected to this office.13 It is therefore important to note that the Scottish Parliament had an official president, elected by the estates, from 1640 to 1651 during the period of Covenanting rule, and this can be deemed to be an important aspect of constitutional innovation. Legislation of 2 June 1640 redefined the estates of the Scottish Parliament. This was contained in the act anent the constitution of this parliament and all subsequent parliaments. The act stated that the “Nobility, Barons and Burgesses and their Commissioners” were the “true estates of this kingdom”.14 The clerical estate had been abolished. Within the wider political and religious context of the time, the settlement gave constitutional sanction to the proceedings of the General Assemblies of the Church of Scotland of 1638 and 1639 that had abolished bishops and archbishops and established a presbyterian church. The 1638 General Assembly in Glasgow had sanctioned presbyterian reformation and the General Assembly of the following year in Edinburgh had further endorsed this. Parliament now ratified these proceedings.15 The abolition of the clerical estate and the redefinition of the estates had important ramifications. The first related to the estate of barons or shire commissioners. Legislation of 1587 had allowed for the shires to be represented by two commissioners, although they did not have an individual vote and voting power was invested in the shire. As a result of the 1640 legislation, however, each baron or shire commissioner was given an individual vote. The political impact of this was that the estate of barons or the shire commissioners doubled their voting power compared to the other two estates (nobles and burgesses). This had important implications for the operation of Scottish parliamentary politics in the 1640s within the context of a single chamber institution and it can be argued that the 1640s witnessed the emergence of a “Scottish Commons”.16 The doubling of the shire vote was a pragmatic recognition of the important role

6

The Scottish Parliament and the Constitutional Settlement of 1640-41

played by the lairds and barons within the Covenanting movement. Some empirical data can be used to highlight the importance of this doubling of the vote. The parliamentary membership of the June 1640 session consisted of 36 nobles, 43 barons/shire commissioners representing 23 shires, and 52 burgesses representing 51 burghs. The total membership of the session therefore amounted to 131. The barons/shires, as an estate, now had 43 votes compared to only 23 had the older system remained in operation.17 A case study of Aberdeenshire in the north-east of Scotland also highlights this point. Sir William Forbes of Craigievar and John Forbes of Leslie represented Aberdeenshire in the June 1640 session. Under the pre-1640 system, Aberdeenshire only had a single vote, despite the fact that it was represented by two commissioners. According to the system adopted from 1640 onwards, both commissioners now had an individual vote and the voting power of Aberdeenshire was therefore doubled.18 The abolition of the clerical estate also had an important impact on the committee structure of the Scottish Parliament. This related to a committee known as the Lords of the Articles or the Committee of Articles. The Lords of the Articles have been traditionally regarded as providing the mechanism by which the crown controlled the legislative agenda of parliament and the committee had been very controversial in promoting the crown’s agenda in the 1621 Parliament and especially the 1633 Parliament. The Articles consisted of 40 members (eight clerics, eight nobles, eight barons/shire commissioners, eight burgesses, and eight officers of state). The clerical estate elected the eight nobles and the nobility elected the eight clerics. This combined group of 16 then elected the 16 shire and burgh members.19 The monarch or his commissioner then nominated the eight officers of state. The abolition of the Lords of the Articles was one of the main constitutional demands of the Covenanting movement. The Articles were effectively made redundant by legislation of 6 June 1640. The act anent choosing committees out of every estate empowered the estates to elect their own representatives to committees. Hence, the estates themselves, and not the monarch or his appointees would be responsible for electing committee members. The use of the Lords of the Articles was to be optional and not compulsory: All subsequent parliaments may according to the importance of effaires for the Tyme either choose or not choose severall Committies for Articles as they shall thinke expedient.20

Furthermore, if employed then any such committee or committees were to have a preparatory remit only. Such a committee or committees could only deal with issues referred to them by parliament. Such committees would be restricted to dealing with issues presented in open parliament and all their deliberations

Scotland and Europe, Scotland in Europe

7

would have to be reported back to parliament for discussion before voting took place. All voting on any legislation prepared by this committee/these committees was to take place in open parliament.21 This was the theoretical legislative position as stated in the act, but the political reality of the situation was that the Articles had been abolished. Indeed, the Lords of the Articles, as a parliamentary committee, did not resurface until the first parliamentary session (1661) of the Restoration Parliament (1661-3) when the royal prerogative was restored with the restoration of the monarchy in the aftermath of the collapse of Cromwellian rule.22 The de facto abolition of the Articles resulted in the emergence of a new committee structure that was a defining feature of the Scottish Parliament in the 1640s. This was based on session committees (which sat during parliamentary sessions) and interval committees (which sat between parliamentary sessions or parliaments and reported back to the next session or new parliament). First deployed in 1640, this was the committee system that was in operation until 1651. These committees dealt with a wide range of issues such as the domestic Covenanting administration of Scotland, including rebellion against the regime, and military and diplomatic commitments in England and Ireland during the British Civil Wars.23 A key feature of the intricate system of parliamentary committees was the Committee of Estates. The Committee of Estates was first established by an act of 8 June 1640 and was initially intended to be a temporary expedient geared towards the needs of the Second Bishops’ War of 1640. It was intended to sit after the 1640 session until the next session of parliament. Nevertheless, Committees of Estates were appointed on a regular basis until 1651. Membership of the committee was not restricted to parliamentary members and the committee consisted of different components. An Edinburgh section administered the country, co-ordinated links with the Scottish localities, and acted as a provisional government between parliamentary sessions or parliaments. An army section or sections accompanied the Covenanting armed forces on a British basis. A separate diplomatic section conducted negotiations with the English Parliament. The Committee of Estates was also involved in the conduct of European diplomacy. First, in 1640-1 it was involved in negotiations for a tripartite confederation with the United Provinces of the Dutch Republic and the English parliament. Second, in 1644 it sanctioned the “Cunningham mission” to the Dutch Republic in attempt to extend the 1643 Solemn League and Covenant on a European basis and create a defence league for the Protestant cause in Europe. Third, in 1644-5 it was proactive in diplomatic negotiations with the Swedes that sought to create a British confederation with Sweden.24 The 1640 session passed a Triennial Act on 6 June. This incorporated the wish for frequent parliaments to be held in Scotland and it stated that a “full and frie” parliament must be held at least every three years with the king in

8

The Scottish Parliament and the Constitutional Settlement of 1640-41

attendance. Prior to the conclusion of future parliaments, the time and place of the next parliament was to be given by the king’s commissioner with the approval of the estates (after 1640, however, the king’s commissioner was supplanted by the President of Parliament). Furthermore, these details were to be constituted in the final enactment of future parliaments.25 The Scottish Triennial Act provided a model for the English Triennial Act later enacted by the Long Parliament in London.26 Parliaments were held on a regular basis in the 1640s as a result of this legislation. Conventions of Estates (which had more limited powers than a parliament) were held in 1634 and 1644 to secure and then oversee Covenanting military intervention in the English Civil War. The First Triennial Parliament met over six sessions between 1644 and 1647. The Second Triennial Parliament met over eight sessions between 1648 and 1651.27 The motives behind the 1640 Triennial Act were primarily twofold. First, there was a desire to return to the practice of frequents parliaments before the departure of James VI to England in 1603. Second, the legislation was intended to prevent a return to arbitrary government under Charles I. The proceedings of parliament in 1641 consolidated and enhanced the gains of the 1640 session. Taken collectively, the proceedings of the 1640 and 1641 sessions had important procedural developments. All grievances were to be given in open parliament. All parliamentary books, records and registers were to be made available for inspection by members. In addition to subscribing the 1638 National Covenant in order to be allowed to sit in parliament, all members were required to take a parliamentary oath (introduced in the 1640 session) recognising the authority and freedom of parliament. Present in the Scottish Parliament for three months from 17 August 1641, Charles I was forced to acknowledge the proceedings of the 1640 session and he was forced, albeit reluctantly, to agree to greater parliamentary control over judicial and executive appointments. Privy Councillors, Officers of State and Ordinary and Extraordinary Lords of the Session (judicial appointments) could only be appointed with parliamentary approval. Officers of State were deprived of the right to sit ex officio.28 By the end of Parliament on 17 November 1641, real political power in Scotland now lay in the hands of the Scottish Covenanters and the Scottish Parliament had enhanced its powers considerably. Charles I returned to England as a growing British crisis emerged with the outbreak of the 1641 Ulster rebellion.29 In the wider European context of the relationship between monarchs and parliaments, the royal prerogative of Charles I had been curtailed by the Scottish Parliament and it can be argued that these constitutional developments should be placed within this wider picture. Paradoxically, the same can also be argued for the Restoration settlement of 1661-3, which can be examined within a European perspective of absolutist tendencies and the assertion of monarchical

Scotland and Europe, Scotland in Europe

9

powers over parliaments and estates. The Scottish Restoration settlement rescinded the constitutional gains of the 1640s, brought back the Lords of the Articles and redefined the relationship between the Scottish monarchy and the Scottish Parliament. This involved the aristocratic surrender of many of the achievements of the 1640s as part of a move back towards the monarchy and royalism in the aftermath of Cromwellian conquest and occupation.30 Nevertheless, the 1640-1 settlement provided a model of constitutional reform for later developments, notably the reform programme of ‘The Club’ at the Revolution of 1689-90 and the ‘Limitations’ of Andrew Fletcher of Saltoun in 1703-4. Saltoun’s reform programme attempted to enhance the powers and integrity of the Scottish Parliament, to eliminate court interference from London in Scottish parliamentary affairs, and to limit the prerogative powers of the monarchy vis-à-vis parliament. In essence, the 1640-1 settlement was an important feature in the move towards constitutional nationalism in the parliamentary sessions of 1703-4 in the last Scottish Parliament of 1703-7, albeit the 1707 Act of Union resulted in an incorporating union and the abolition of the Scottish Parliament.31 Given the theme of this conference and subsequent publication of papers, my final point would be to stress that the pre-1707 Scottish Parliament should be compared to the experiences of other parliaments and assemblies in early modern Europe, including of course to those of the English parliament. It is therefore my final contention that the Scottish constitutional settlement of 1640-1 represents an important case study for the curtailing of monarchical powers in early modern Europe.

Notes 1

See J.R. Young, ‘The Scottish Parliament in the Seventeenth Century: European Perspectives’, in A.I. Macinnes, T. Riis and F.G. Pedersen (eds.), Ships, Guns and Bibles in the North Sea and the Baltic States, c.1350-c.1700 (East Linton, 2000), pp. 138-172; Michael A.R. Graves, The Parliaments of Early Modern Europe (London, 2001). For the most recent contribution on the Scottish Parliament in a wider comparative context see, K.M. Brown, ‘Introduction: Parliament and Politics in Scotland, 1567-1707’, in K.M. Brown and A.J. Mann (eds.), The History of the Scottish Parliament. Volume 2. Parliament and Politics in Scotland 1567-1707 (Edinburgh, 2005) 2 See, for example, J.R. Young, ‘The Parliamentary Incorporating Union of 1707: Political Management, Anti-Unionism and Foreign Policy’, in T.M. Devine and J.R. Young (eds.), Eighteenth Century Scotland. New Perspectives (East Linton, 1999), pp.24-52. 3 J.R. Young, ‘The Scottish Parliament and National Identity from the Union of the Crowns to the Union of the Parliaments, 1603-1707’, in D. Broun, R.J. Finlay and M. Lynch (eds.), Image and Identity. The Making and Re-making of Scotland Through the

10

The Scottish Parliament and the Constitutional Settlement of 1640-41

Ages (Edinburgh, 1998), p. 105. The two standard works to date are C.S. Terry, The Parliament of Scotland. Its Constitution and Procedure (Glasgow, 1905) and R.S. Rait, The Parliament of Scotland (Glasgow, 1924). 4 J. Goodare, ‘Parliament and Society in Scotland, 1560-1603’, (unpublished Ph.D. thesis, University of Edinburgh, 1987); J.R. Young, The Scottish Parliament 1639-1661: A Political and Constitutional Analysis (Edinburgh, 1996); R. Tanner, The Late Medieval Scottish Parliament. Politics and the Three Estates, 1421-1488 (East Linton, 2001); G. MacIntosh, ‘The Scottish Parliament in the Restoration Era, 1660-1681’, (unpublished Ph.D. thesis, University of St. Andrews, 2002); A. McQueen, ‘The Origins and Development of the Scottish Parliament, 1249-1329’, (unpublished Ph.D. thesis, University of St. Andrews, 2002); D.J. Patrick, ‘People and Parliament in Scotland 16891702’, (unpublished Ph.D. thesis, University of St. Andrews, 2002); K.M. Brown and R.J. Tanner (eds.), The History of the Scottish Parliament. Volume 1. Parliament and Politics in Scotland 1235-1560 (2004); Brown and Tanner (eds.), The History of the Scottish Parliament. Volume 2. 5 See http://www.st-andrews.ac.uk/~scotparl/ for further details. 6 R. Bonney, The European Dynastic States 1494-1660 (Oxford, 1991), pp. 316-7. 7 R.S. Rait, The Parliaments of Scotland (Glasgow, 1924), p. 165. 8 See Young, ‘The Scottish Parliament in the Seventeenth Century’, pp. 141-2; J. Goodare, ‘The Estates in the Scottish Parliament, 1286-1707’, in C. Jones (ed.), The Scots and Parliament (Edinburgh, 1996), pp.11-32. 9 Young, ‘The Scottish Parliament and National Identity’, pp. 106-9;, A.I. Macinnes , Charles I and the Making of the Covenanting Movement 1625-1641 (Edinburgh, 1991); D. Stevenson, The Scottish Revolution 1637-44: The Triumph of the Covenanters (Newton Abbot, 1973); M. Lee, The Road to Revolution: Scotland Under Charles I 1625-1637 (Urbana and Chicago, 1985); A.I. Macinnes, ‘The Scottish Constitution, 1638-1651. The Rise and Fall of Oligarchic Centralism’, in J. Morrill (ed.), The Scottish National Covenant in its British Context 1638-1651 (Edinburgh, 1990). 10 Young, The Scottish Parliament, chapters one and two; 11 Young, The Scottish Parliament, chapters one and two; Stevenson, The Scottish Revolution, pp.193-4. 12 Sir James Balfour, Historical Works, J. Haig (ed.), four volumes (Edinburgh, 1824-5), II, p. 379. 13 APS, V, p.259. Presidents of parliament who were appointed between 1640 and 1651 are listed in D. Stevenson (ed.), The Government of Scotland Under the Covenanters (Edinburgh, 1982), pp.175-6. For further information on the mechanism for electing presidents, see Young, The Scottish Parliament, pp. 20, 90- 1. 14 APS, V, pp. 260-1. 15 Macinnes, ‘The Scottish Constitution’, p.114. 16 J.R. Young, ‘The Scottish Parliament and the Covenanting Revolution: The Emergence of a Scottish Commons’, in J.R. Young (ed.), Celtic Dimensions of the British Civil Wars (Edinburgh, 1997), pp. 164-84. 17 APS, v, pp. 258-9. See Young, The Scottish Parliament, pp. 332-7.

Scotland and Europe, Scotland in Europe

11

18 M. Young (ed.), The Parliaments of Scotland. Burgh and Shire Commissioners, two volumes (Edinburgh, 1992-3), volume one, pp.245-6, 249. 19 Young, ‘The Scottish Parliament in the Seventeenth Century’, pp.143-4. For a recent revision of the traditional interpretation of the Articles, see A.R. Macdonald, ‘Deliberative Processes in Parliament c.1567-1639: Multicameralism and the Lords of the Articles’, The Scottish Historical Review, LXXXI, (2002), pp.22-51. 20 APS, v, pp. 278-9. 21 Ibid. 22 Ibid, viii, pp.8-9. See Young, The Scottish Parliament, pp. 304-23. 23 See Young, The Scottish Parliament, for a detailed analysis of these parliamentary committees. A selection of committee registers have been transcribed and printed in Stevenson (ed.), The Government of Scotland under the Covenanters. 24 J.R. Young, ‘The Scottish Parliament and the Covenanting heritage of constitutional reform’, in The Stuart Kingdoms in the Seventeenth Century. Awkward Neighbours (Dublin, 2002), pp. 229-230; J.R. Young, ‘The Scottish Parliament and European Diplomacy 1641-1647: The Palatine, The Dutch Republic and Sweden’, in S. Murdoch (ed.), Scotland and the Thirty Years’ War, 1618-1648 (Leiden, 2001), pp. 77-106. See Young, The Scottish Parliament, for an analysis of the various Committees of Estates appointed between 1640 and 1651. 25 APS, v, p.268. 26 Rait, The Parliaments of Scotland, p.67, 315-6. 27 See Young, The Scottish Parliament, p.331 and Stevenson (ed.), The Government of Scotland Under the Covenanters, pp. 174-5, for lists of these parliaments and convention of estates. 28 Young, The Scottish Parliament, pp.19-53; Macinnes, ‘The Scottish Constitution’, pp. 114-119; Stevenson, The Scottish Revolution, pp. 192-197, 227-230, 233-242. 29 Young, The Scottish Parliament, pp.46-7; Stevenson, The Scottish Revolution, pp. 2412; Macinnes, Charles I and the Covenanting Movement, pp. 202, 206. 30 Young, The Scottish Parliament, pp.304-23; Young, ‘The Scottish Parliament in the Seventeenth Century: European perspectives’, pp. 158-9. 31 Young, ‘The Scottish Parliament and the Covenanting heritage of constitutional reform’, pp.226-250.

A SCOTTISH-STYLE UNIVERSAL CHURCH? THE ATTEMPTS AT RELIGIOUS RECONCILIATION OF JOHN DURIE IN CHRISTENDOM, 1610-1653 SABRINA JUILLET-GARZON, UNIVERSITY OF VERSAILLES- ST QUENTIN

The relations between Scotland and Europe have always been very rich. More than simple relations, they often were genuine military alliances that progressively changed into cultural, philosophical and theological bounds. However, in any of these cases, it cannot be ignored that Scotland looked for allies to fight against England or to oppose its principles regardless which they might have been. These bounds and alliances also enabled the spreading of ideas in Europe, especially during the Reformation. Special links were created with the French Huguenots, the Dutch as well as with many other European divines. From that moment on, the main aim was not to have a military association against England, but to create an alliance of all the reformed Churches to re-establish religious peace in Europe. Many divines went all over Europe to find support and help for that project. Among them, John Durie (1596-1680), a Scot who became a strong defender of the Irenic movement1 which dreamt of building a Universal Church in Europe. When Durie died in 1680, few people were aware that Europe had lost one of its main defender of religious peace. Today still, this Scot is not very well known, if not ignored, by historians despite the fact that for over fifty years, his name was famous in all the reformed courts and Churches of Europe. Born in Scotland at a critical time of religious unrest, he experienced religious conflicts and divisions in which his family was involved. As an exile on the continent, he decided to put an end to this situation that had led Europe into a war that was to last thirty years. Therefore, he started to think of a project of union of all the Protestants of Christendom. This project took him through a journey over Europe and brought him friendship and support as much as hatred and suspicion, but it also enabled him to shed new hopes of unity and harmony in that divided Europe. Thanks to a wide network, John Durie soon became the spokesman of the irenic divines such as Samuel Hartlib and Jan Amos

Scotland and Europe, Scotland in Europe

13

Komensky, also known under the name of Comenius. Nevertheless, although he believed in a universal Church, his actions were often influenced by Scottish principles. This allows us to put forwards the idea that this project was above all the enterprise of a Scot for Scotland more than the one of a divine in favour of a European and Universal Church as he claimed it was. This is quite intriguing if we consider that he was a Scot who spent only few years in his native country. Thus, how could his actions reflect the worries and hopes of the Scottish nation during the first half of the 17th century? We will answer this question through the study of Durie’s character and work within the context of the European theological and social crisis. First, we will deal with the reasons and influences that led Durie to begin that irenic project. This will help us to analyse the way he proceeded to try to impose it in Europe in order to understand finally how this project profited or at least put to the fore the Scottish interests in England and Europe.

An education surrounded by religious conflicts John Durie was born in Edinburgh in 1596 in a family deeply involved in the Presbyterian cause. Indeed John was not the first member of his family to act for the reformation. His grandfather2 and father had both been two emblematic figures of the defence of Presbyterianism and supporters of Andrew Melville. John got from his father his love for theology and a critical sense of comparison of the various reformed Churches in Europe. This education was at the origin of his project to create a universal reformed Church. Of course, this idea was not innovating at this time in Scotland. James VI had also tried to establish a certain unity between the European Churches in order to organise the universal Church. This had been the dream of many divines ever since the beginning of the Reformation. Nevertheless, contrary to Durie’s family who was involved only in the evangelical Churches and in the crusade against Catholicism, King James wished to establish a universal Church with the participation of Rome. This dissension in opinion sent the Duries in exile on the continent in 1606. John was 10 years old. His family joined the French Huguenots in Bordeaux before moving to Holland where they settled in Leyden in 1609. This city was at the time one of the main European centres of religious toleration3 and many Scottish exiles could find shelter there. But soon, the family moved again to be with Melville exiled in Sedan, a town which had become the English and Scottish Presbyterian stronghold on the continent. Thus, John Durie spent his childhood and teenage surrounded by religious controversies and conflicts both in Scotland and on the continent at a time when the religious situation in Scotland was particularly ambiguous. Indeed, James VI of Scotland, though he had been brought up as a Presbyterian, seemed to

14

A Scottish-Style Universal Church?

favour Episcopacy ever since he started to perceive the possibility of claiming the throne of England4. With this aim in view, he led secret negotiations with Rome. However, King James could not oppose the Presbyterian majority of his subjects and despite several sentences to exile or prison and several antiPresbyterian laws5 soon cancelled, he often made compromises in favour of the Presbyterians. The Scottish ecclesiastical policy was destabilising for everyone in Scotland and Europe, especially for the Calvinist States, which did not know any longer what to expect of the Reformation in Scotland, and after 1603, on the British Isle in general. Their only link with Scotland was soon limited to the only exiles or the suspicious and anxious Presbyterians, limited in their actions by the vagueness of King James’s ecclesiastical policy. When the king added the English crown to his Scottish one, the worries of the Presbyterians increased. This feeling was justified when James, made confident by his English title, decided to establish officially and deliberately the Episcopal system in Scotland in 1610. The Presbyterians reacted, of course, but this time, they were more pacific than they used to be. Most of the new Presbyterian voices were inspired by the work of John Forbes. The latter advocated a pacific opposition to the king’s policy which would be organised by assemblies in which dialogue and toleration would the bases to find a agreement on the reforms and to re-establish peace and harmony in the Church. John Durie was a supporter of this movement6. Although he lived on the continent at the time, he kept an eye on the religious situation in Scotland and like his fellow exiled Scots, he saw a logical link between the religious crisis in Scotland and the increasing theological tensions on the continent. Indeed, in 1618, the Palatinate was invaded by the Catholic Emperor Ferdinand II Hapsburg (1578-1637). In solidarity with the Protestant cause, Scotland developed a strong paranoia about the threat of a Catholic invasion. Durie was aware of the importance of the situation on the continent and the consequences of a Scottish intervention in the crisis. He was geographically and personally involved in these divisions. More than ever, someone had to act to re-establish peace in Christendom. Durie found himself inspired by this mission that from then on, became his raison d’être.

Irenism as a means for peace in Europe: the irenic mission of Durie When he decided to work on his project of reconciliation within Christendom, Durie already knew where and how to start. He had to meet and convince the Reformed States in Europe to join his cause together with as many divines and leaders as possible. He needed contacts and luckily, he was hardly short of those. His early experiences in exile, his family background and his studies7

Scotland and Europe, Scotland in Europe

15

brought him in close contact with many people preoccupied by the religious situation in Europe. During his studies in Leyden, he met Elder Robinson and many of the Puritan Pilgrims who were to move to the New World and create the Plymouth Plantation where they could practice their religion freely8. Durie built his reputation as he secured contacts with these influent divines and soon became minister of a small congregation of English and Scottish Presbyterians in Elbing in 1624. This position enabled him to spread his principles and theories and to give them credibility in the Reformed societies in Holland, which acted as intermediaries with all the other reformed States in Europe. However, more than these theologians, his own family was at the origin of his network. Composed of many divines and State officers, his family introduced him in many key royal courts of Europe, which became the basis of his network of contacts and support9. Thanks to this, Durie managed to impose himself in Sweden where his project was welcome and gained to support of King Gustavus Adolphus, the champion of the defence of the Reformed Churches. This support appealed many divines such as Samuel Hartlib and Comenius. The latter were to open new horizons for his project and were to motivate him in trying to introduce it on his native Isle. Convinced by the programme of reunion of the Churches of Christendom as presented in Durie’s project and the proposition for a reformation in education advocated by Comenius10, Samuel Hartlib decided to become the intermediary between the two men. He believed their principles could complete each other and that together, they could restore the religious harmony divines so hoped for. Hartlib met Durie in 1627. He proposed to him to be his agent and to speak on his behalf to King Charles I and to the parliament of England11. Indeed, England was a strategic Protestant States : it had not finished its reformation yet but given its importance on the political European stage, it was essential to convince and help the young king to reform the Churches of his kingdoms, since it would set an example for the other Protestant State and would be a good start to promote the solutions they proposed in their irenic projects. Indeed, the Church of England used Lutheran doctrines and therefore, it could influence the Lutheran States on the continent. More, since England was united by the crown to Scotland, a traditionally Calvinist country, the Isle could also interfere in the Calvinist communities on the other side of the Channel. Together, the two kingdoms had a great potential for action that could not be neglected at that time in the European Christendom. The support of these divines and his family12confirmed Durie’s confidence in the belief that his mission was well-founded. He wrote to all the leaders and divines of Europe in order to inform them of his project. His correspondence with Roe in England is a good example of his prolific writing activity13. Unfortunately, the German Princes did not show any interest and England did

16

A Scottish-Style Universal Church?

not do any official gesture in his favour. For the latter, the religious crisis on the continent could only be solved by the German Princes. This crisis had no link with the one the Isle was experiencing. In fact, Charles I could not financially afford to intervene in the European conflict. This would have indeed obliged him to send an army on the continent at a time the State coffers were at their lowest. Durie spent months trying unsuccessfully to convince England to help him to promote his project despite the devoted help of Samuel Hartlib, John Davenant, Joseph Hall and William Bedel14. But Durie did not give up and in 1631, started a long journey across the continent to gain more support. This was for him the opportunity to write many tracts15 that were meant to be read by all the Evangelical States. He wrote a narrative of his journey16 in which he explained his pacific project. The latter was followed by a tract De Moto Procedendi (1632) in which he explained the method he believed to be the best to promote the reunion of Christendom. He proposed to all the Reformed Churches to gather into an assembly, which would discuss the differences and the common points of the various confessions. Only several of these common points would then be kept to create a common confession. This project was first meant for the Lutheran Churches, which were divided in Germany and were at the origin of the conflict there, but from 1632, he advocated this method could be applied to the whole continent. His ideas reached Sweden where Gustavus Adolphus declared himself ready to subscribe to the project. Unfortunately, the king died before he had time to act officially in Durie’s favour. The death of the champion of Protestantism was a reversal of situation since many lost confidence in Durie’s project. They believed that no one but Gustavus Adolphus had enough authority and influence among the Protestants to bring the project to reality. Durie did not lose faith and went to defend his project to the Convention of Frankfurt in May 163417. But there again, his project provoked interest but nothing was organised to put it into practice. Therefore, Durie changed his strategy. Gustavus Adolphus had been involved in the recovery of the Palatinate. His victories made him the champion of the Protestant cause. Durie knew that his only chance to gain back the trust of his supporters was to find a new champion for the Protestant cause in the Palatinate crisis. Thus, he turned to his king once again18. Charles I was personally concerned by the crisis. His sister, Elizabeth, was the wife of the Elector Frederic V and Scotland remembered her dearly. The Parliament of Scotland had expressed many times its will to help its Princess and her husband19 but there had never been enough money to cover the expenses of an army. Despite all that, Durie decided to meet the king personally in order to convince him to intervene on the continent. He left for England in November 163320. Comenius, who was also convinced of the necessity of an

Scotland and Europe, Scotland in Europe

17

intervention by Charles in Europe21, supported him in his enterprise. All believed Charles I had to become the new champion of the protestant cause, but was he able to do so? Indeed, the king was accumulating mistakes in his ecclesiastical policies. He had decided with his councillor William Laud to make the Churches of his kingdoms uniform, imposing on Scotland the system and doctrines used in the Church of England. But Scotland had remained deeply Presbyterian despite the religious reforms by King James. It hardly accepted any royal authority on its Church. Tensions between the Kirk and the king were increasing dramatically, especially after the project was made official in 1634. These extended to the Puritan community22 in England who saw in Laud’s policy a disguised way to re-establish Catholicism on the Isle. The gap between the Calvinists and the Episcopalian Church was widening. Durie was then in a very ambiguous situation, since he was a Presbyterian and had to deal with the Church of England. This position could play against his project. Therefore, he accepted to put his confession aside and to become a member of the Episcopal Church. He wanted to obtain the considerations of the king and his councillor, so that he could be able to make them put his programme into practice in the two kingdoms23. This pragmatic decision was not in contradiction with his convictions. On the opposite, he believed in a via media between the various confessions. This would imply a sort of toleration of the numerous religious groups, which were in a process of confessionalisation. Of course, the toleration would be provisional, the time for the universal Church to be established. European divines did not express themselves against his change of confession24 apart from Robert Baillie who accused him of being influenced by Laud and to be his emissary. As far as the Scots were concerned, they only accused him of having an affinity with Episcopacy but they still trusted him. They certainly hoped that this Scot would defend their interests. Thus, supported by the European Protestant community, Durie became the mediator for the unity between England and Scotland. This unity would be without precedent in Europe and could become an example for all.

A Scottish or a European project? From 1634, Durie concentrated exclusively on the Anglo-Scottish question, but the task promised to be difficult. The gap between the two kingdoms was widening because of Laud’s reforms in Scotland. Therefore, Durie decided to intervene in both Laud’s policy and reformation process on the Isle. He went first to Scotland25. He wanted indeed to act with the help of his countrymen. He visited the very influential Aberdeen Doctors. The latter, though quite suspicious about several points of the project, declared themselves in favour of

18

A Scottish-Style Universal Church?

it. They called many divines to join the cause. The most influential ones were John Forbes, William Forbes26, William Leslie (Durie’s uncle), Robert Baillie27, Alexander Henderson and Archbishop Spottiswood28. Nevertheless, the latter feared that one of the confessions could take ascendancy over the others. This situation would provoke jealousy and therefore, new tensions. They believed Durie should remain discreet the time his programme was made official and regulated by the king29. More, to them, Durie was somehow too often in contact with Laud. They suspected him of trying to establish the English religious system in Scotland in a roundabout way. Thus, it was during that period of unrest between Laud and the Presbyterians, being aware of the consequences of his project in Scotland, that the Scottish divines decided to slow voluntarily the realization of Durie’s irenic programme. Disappointed, Durie left for Sweden. He was to stay there for the next five years before joining other supporters in Holland, where he wrote one of his most important tracts in favour of a Church reunion30, but the Bishop War called him back on the Isle in August 1641. In order to solve the conflict between the king and the Scottish Presbyterians, Durie called the Swiss Calvinists for help. He wanted them to act alongside the Scottish Presbyterians and to promote their reformation abroad. The Swiss divines sent a series of letters to William Laud to convince him to respect the Church of Scotland or at least to do nothing against it. The main aim is to show every party the importance of reconciliation and of an action in favour of Protestantism, whatever the confession, in order to work together to establish peace in religion. Following Durie’s example, many divines, among whom were Scottish Episcopalians, exchanged correspondence with the Protestant Church of Switzerland. More than the question of confession, the Scots wanted to defend their identity, which they believed was threatened by the presence of the English army in their land. Durie took profit of this national paranoia to convince them to act for the defence of their Church and at the same time, to bring back peace in the two kingdoms. He advised them to propose to England to create an assembly, which through discussion, would establish harmony between the two national Churches. It was then obvious that Durie was trying to involve the Scots in the process of reunion of the Churches and to make them believe they were at the origin of it. Since the signature of the National Covenant of Scotland in 1638, the Presbyterian Church seemed strong enough to be a model for a common Church on the Isle. What is more, the Covenant put forward the idea of an expansion of the Presbyterian Church across the border31. Durie contacted the influential members of the General Assembly. Among those were Robert Baillie and Alexander Henderson who also dreamt of unity, if not of religious union, by means of a common religion to both England and Scotland – this Church being

Scotland and Europe, Scotland in Europe

19

of course the Presbyterian one. With this purpose in mind, they wrote together A Memorial Concerning Peace Ecclesiastical32. Thus, the General Assembly of Scotland was ready to follow Durie’s project. The next stage was to convince England to join them in the enterprise. Durie sent a petition33 to the Commons and gave Hartlib the mission to create contacts with moderate Episcopalians to interest them in Durie’s – and the Scots’ – programme. The purpose was eventually to organise an assembly that would discuss a religious reform in England and then in the rest of the Isle, thanks to what a common Church would be established. The influence of the Presbyterian promised to be evident. More than ever, the Isle was the centre of attention of Europe: the solution to the theological crisis might lie in Durie’s and Hartlib’s enterprise in the Scottish General Assembly and the English Parliament. The Puritans were the first ones to swear to answer to the project defended by Hartlib. John Gauden, for example, was convinced by the reforms and the idea of a debate, which were proposed. He said a sermon at the Commons on 29th November 164034 in which he advocated unity through a reformation of education the way Comenius and Durie wished it to be done. This sermon was at the origin of the official invitation of the two men to Westminster35. Unfortunately, this invitation was due more to curiosity than to a real intention to establish their programme. Nothing was done. However, the idea of an assembly gathering all the Protestant groups of the Isle had attracted many supporters who were soon to put it back to the fore. Durie had to wait for two years to see such an assembly created. In July 1643, the Commons eventually accepted to organise a religious assembly to discuss religious reforms under the leadership of the Parliament, though this was not because of religious awareness but because political and military interest. Indeed, the Parliament lacked men to fight against the king’s army and called Scotland for help. The latter accepted to send troops only if Westminster created an assembly to discuss the religious reformation in England with the help and advice of Scottish commissioners. This assembly, known as the Westminster Assembly, made Durie’s and his supporters’ dreams come true at a time they had already given them up. Durie had left for the continent after the failure of his project in England but Hartlib contacted him and asked him to come back to participate to this new attempt at reformation. He also asked him to gather some advice of European divines36. Durie believed this opportunity was a new chance to establish his programme on the Isle, especially since Baillie and Henderson were to sit in the assembly as two of the Scottish commissioners. His hopes can be read in his Epistolary Discourse (1644)37.

20

A Scottish-Style Universal Church?

Under the influence of the Scots, the English Parliament started a new phase in its reformation. The main purpose was to reinforce Protestantism on the Isle. This assembly provoked the admiration of the Protestant States in Europe. But soon, the project of pacification and reunion that was supposed to be created thanks to establishment of a Presbyterian system in 1646, was threatened by the increasing influence of the Independents38. Their toleration principles were against the principles of the Presbyterian. The opposition of the two parties triggered a real crisis in the Westminster Assembly. Durie saw once again all the chances to have his programme established ruined by tensions between religious groups. He desperately tried to convince them to reach an agreement publishing A Demonstration of the Necessity of Settling some gospel Government Amongst the Churches of Christ in this Nation39. Nevertheless, thanks to the support of several members of the parliament, he obtained a seat in the Westminster Assembly from November 1645 to March 1646. He was a member of the committee in charge of the uniformity of the Church government. He acted in favour of the Presbyterians but he also told them to make concessions to the Independents. He tried once more to convince by a sermon he pronounced on 26th November 1645 « Israel’s call to march out of Babylon unto Jerusalem »40 in which he expressed his idea of a union of the Churches of God (which nevertheless did not include the Catholics !). This idea was very badly perceived. He reacted to these attacks through tracts and pamphlets which he spread among the population and invited many divines from the continent to come and see the situation on the Isle in order to have their point of view and their advice41. This way, the Calvinist influence in Scotland was taken over by the presence of these foreign divines in the English Parliament who were as well supported by the Calvinist refugees in England and Scotland42. Unfortunately, all this came to a failure. The Independents had already become too powerful and were opposing every aspect of Presbyterianism. Durie made a last attempt at reconciliation in 1648 in the pamphlet A Peacemaker Without Partiality, but we can already notice that it was not as much in favour of the Presbyterians as his other work used to be. He was indeed getting closer to the Independents who were then at the fore in politics and religion in England and were more in a position to help him to establish his project of religious reunion on the Isle. From then on, he would not defend the interest of the Scottish Presbyterians any longer. What can we think of John Durie’s enterprise within the Scottish perspective? He did all he could to re-establish a religious harmony in Europe and did not hesitate to change confession in order to increase his contacts with the Protestant leaders to obtain their support. Considering he was first a Presbyterian, then a clergyman in the Episcopal Church of England and

Scotland and Europe, Scotland in Europe

21

eventually an Independent, one could accuse him of being an opportunist, but whatever confession he had, he cannot be denied the fact that he had always acted as an heir of the Scottish community of exiles. His project was inspired by the Protestants on the continent. It was strongly supported there by Calvinist and Lutheran divines and above all, by the Scottish exiles who widely spread and promoted his programme. These had indeed many reasons to support him, since they were themselves the victims of religious divisions and were ready to do anything which could bring a remedy to their situation in order to come back to Scotland or to justify their actions on the continent. Voluntarily or not, Durie was the representative of the hopes of this community. The latter was convinced that it could have an influence in the salvation of the Reformed Church thanks to the example it could show to the rest of Europe by solving the religious conflicts on their Isle using programmes for unity and peace such as Durie’s one. John Durie’s project was never established, but it participated to the confessional awareness in Europe and above all, he helped Scotland to have an influence on the political and religious European stage for over fifteen years.

References Baillie Robert, Letters and Journals. Edinburgh, 1841. Batten J., John Dury, Advocate of Christian Reunion. University of Chicago Press, 1944. 203 p. Cottret Bernard, Terre d’Exile, l’Angleterre et ses Réfugiés. Paris: Aubier, 1985. 298 p. Donaldson Gordon, Scottish Historical Documents. Glasgow, 1999. —. Scottish Church History. Edinburgh, 1985. 238 p. Duchein Michel, Histoire de l’Ecosse. Paris : Fayard, 1998. 519 p. General Assembly A Declaration Of the reasons for Assisting the Parliament of England Against the Papists and the Prelatical Army. Edinburgh, 1641. —. Arguments Given by the Commissioners of Scotland unto the Lords about the Treaty Persuading Conformity of Church Government, as One Principal Means of a Continued Peace Between the Two Nations. Edinburgh, 1641. —. Their Desires Concerning Unitie in Religion and Uniformity of Church Government, as a Special Means for Conserving of Peace, in His Majesties Dominions. March 1641. Edinburgh, 1641. 16 p. Hartlib Samuel, A brief Relation of that which has been lately attempted to procure Peace Amongst Protestants. London, 1630. Komensky Jan Amos, Korrespondence. Prague Akademie, 1898 —. Na Spis Proti Bratrske od Sam. Martina Z Drazova Sepsany Ohlašeni. Prague, 1630.

22

A Scottish-Style Universal Church?

Mitchell F, Minutes of the Sessions of the Westminster Assembly of Divines, While Engaged in Preparing their Directory for Church Government, Confession of Faith and Catechisms (Nov. 1644 to March 1649). Edinburgh and London, 1874, 546 p. Murdoch Steve, Network North, Scottish Kin, Commercial and Covert Associations in Northern Europe. 1603-1746. Leyden, Brill, 2006. —. « Subverting confessionalism : the network of John Durie in the North. 1628-54 » Patera Adolph, Jan Amos Komenskeho Correspondence. Prague: Akademie, 1892. 300 p. Paul Robert S., The Assembly of the Lord : Politics and religion in the Westminster Assembly and the Grand Debate. Edinburgh: Clark, 1985. 545p. Spears Wayne, “Covenanted Uniformity in Religion. The Influence of the Scottish Commissioners upon the Ecclesiology of the Westminster Assembly”, PhD, University of Pittsburgh, 1976. 350 p. Turnbull, “Plans of Comenius for his stay in England”, Acta Comeniana, 1958. Urbanek Vladimir, “The network of Comenius’ correspondents”, Acta Comeniana 12, 1997. Young Robert, Comenius in England. 1641-42. London: Oxford University Press, 1932.

Notes 1

Irenism is a trend of idea born from the religious reformation in Europe in the 16th century. It supports the solidarity between the Christians of Christendom and the study of the different confessional trends with the goal to define their common points and create a universal Church that would restore religious harmony between the European nations. 2 John Durie (1537-1600) was accused of heresy, imprisoned and condemned because he had defended the principles of John Knox. This grandfather became one of the emblematic figures of the Scottish Reformation. As a fervent Presbyterian, he brought his children up with the principles of this Church. All his sons became ministers and all his daughters married clergymen. His involvement and actions were awarded when he was nominated minister at St Giles from 1573-1575. He met Andrew Melville and Walter Balcanquahal during those years and became their supporters. With them, he joined the group of opposition to the religious reforms of James VI. 3 Its University welcomed the great divines of the time. 4 During his reign, James VI maintained contacts with the Catholic states and Rome because of strategical reasons – he expected their support at the moment of the English succession – but also because he believed he could participate in the restoration of religious harmony without the participation of all the confessional groups of Christendom. According to him, Church was a means to be used by the State to maintain

Scotland and Europe, Scotland in Europe

23

unity within the population. As far as faith was concerned, he considered that it depended only on the individual and that it could vary according to each one’s aspirations. See Basilikon Doron by James VI of Scotland, 1598, book 1 « Now as to faith is the entertainer and quickener of religion (as I have already said) it is sure a persuasion and apprehension of the promise of God […] us oft to pray when ye are quietest, especially in your bed : for public prayer serveth more for example ». 5 The Black Acts of 1584 were cancelled in 1592. They had limited the influence of the Presbyterians by imposing bishops in the Scottish Parliament which increased James VI’s authority on the Church of Scotland. 6 John Forbes was influenced by David Pareus who exposed his irenic ideas in Irenicum (1615). Forbes wrote his own Irenicum which was published in Aberdeen in 16296. John Forbes and Durie were cousins and although they were frequently in contact, nothing enables to tell that Frobes influenced Durie. See Steve Murdoch, Network North, Scottish Kin, Commercial and Covert Associations in Northern Europe. 1603-1746. Leyden, Brill, 2006. 7 He made several trips to Holland and France during his studies, see Batten, « Dury’s preparation for irenic activity », John Dury, 1944, p.10 8 The narratives of the English Puritan exiles in Leyden before their departure for the New World can be read in the Journal of William Bradford, Of Plymouth Plantation, 1650. 9 Among the most influent members of this familly, Sir James Spens of Wormiston, his uncle, was a commissioner of Charles I in Sweden. He was the one who introduced Durie to Gustavus Adolphus II of Sweden. The latter was to give his project the credibility it needed to attract the attention of the Evangelical States. See Steve Murdoch, Network North, Scottish Kin, Commercial and Covert Associations in Northern Europe. 1603-1746. Leyden: Brill, 2006, and « Kith and Kin : John Durie and the Scottish community in Scandinavia and the Baltic, 1624-34 » in Britain and the Baltic: Studies in Commercial, Political Relations, 1500-2000. P. Salmon, T. Barrow (Ed.), Suderland, 2003. See also Comenius’s network analysed by Vladimir Urbanek in “The network of Comenius’ correspondents”, Acta Comeniana 12, 1997. 10 See Jan Amos Komensky, Na Spis Proti Bratrske od Sam. Martina Z Drazova Sepsany Ohlašeni, Prague, 1630. Samuel Hartlib, A brief Relation of that which has been lately attempted to procure Peace Amongst Protestants, 1630. 11 Batten, Dury p. 21 12 Durie’s cousin and Spens’s son-in-law, Colonel James Ramsay, had worked for Gustavus Adolphus12 before he became Gentleman of the bedchamber and Master of the Wardrobe of Charles I. He helped Durie to approach Adolphus and to be received by William Laud and Charles I. Murdoch, Subverting Confessionalism p. 284 13 Thomas Roe was one of the main supporters of Durie’s project in England. He became his representative on the Isle. His numerous letters show his action in the promotion of the project. See the correspondence between Durie and Roe in Calendar State Papers, Domestic Series 1633-34. However, Roe’s letters should not be considered a properly reliable source. Indeed, although he wrote he was very active in promotion of the irenic programme, he was in fact only obeying to he was ordered to do by Ramsay to whom he owed a lot13. As a matter of fact, if Roe was in contact with Durie, this was the result

24

A Scottish-Style Universal Church?

Ramsay’s will. The latter had helped him to escape from a diplomatic mistake he had made with Gustavus Adolphus. Since then, Roe had been indebted to him and his family. See Murdoch Subverting Confessionalism p. 284 14 Batten, ibid, p.26 15 Generali Mediorum Quaerendae Ecclesiastica Pace Declinatio. Durie explains there the reasons and describes the division in Christendom. He also proposes solutions such as the possibility to keep the essential doctrines in order to maintain a certain uniformity in the ceremony and at the same time to create a Church that would be considered as universal since in theory, it could be acceptable by all the Protestants. 16 Durie, Summarie Relation in Charles Briggs, Presbyterian Review,VIII, p.301 17 Calendar State Papers, Domestic Series, 1633-34. He went secretly with Anstruther to Frankfurt as his assistant even though he had been forbidden by Laud to do so. 18 On 31st July 1633, he contacted Laud to tell him about his intentions and to convince him to intervene in the European crisis : « Since the death of the king of Sweden, the Churches of Germany look to the Church of England to mediate ecclesiastical matters ». Historical Manuscipts Commission Report IV, part I. 19 Many attemps had been done during the reign of James VI and I. In 1621, the latter convened the Scottish Parliament and asked for troups to be sent to the Palatinate, see Registers of the Parliament of Scotland, National Archives of Scotland, vol. XII, 8 mai 1620, p. 259. The Scots got involved this way into the European crisis and proposed to send prisoners as soldiers there: “Proclamation Reciting the Acts Against Sturdy and Idle Beggars and Masterless Vagabonds with offer to all such Beggars and Vagabonds as may be willing to avoid the penalty of death to which they are liable by these Acts of a means of doing so by coming at once to Edinburgh and Enlisting under Colonel Gray for Service in the War on the Continent.” 20 He stayed there up to April 1634 21 Jan Amos Komensky, Korrespondence. Prague : Akademie, 1898 22 The Puritan community in the Elizabethan sense, i.e. the opponents to the Episcopal Church of England. 23 He converted to the Church of England. His ordination occurred in Exeter on 24th February 1634. 24 He mentioned his change of confession appears in his Unchanged Peacemaker p.5 and in Newman Smyth, “John Dury: A Peacemaker among the Churches”, Constructive Quarterly IV, p. 410 “In order that he might represent the Episcopal Church in the furtherance of his undertaking, he received additional ordination… without renouncing to his previous ordination”. 25 He visited Edinburgh and Aberdeen in 1634-35. 26 The bishop of Edinburgh William Forbes, who also advocated an ecclesiastical reconciliation, said sermons encouraging the reunion of the Protestant Churches and the Catholics. 27 Durie and Baillie made their peace with one another when Colonel John Cochrane succeeded in organising a meeting between the two men. More, despite the prejudice he had about Durie, Baillie decided to support him in his enterprise because of the principles of unity and peace that were described in the programme. See Baillie, Letters

Scotland and Europe, Scotland in Europe

25

and Journals, I,9 “ Concerning Durie’s business, whenever I hear of the advancement of it I am refreshed.” 28 Spottiswood, though he was an Episcopalian, acted regularly as a mediator between the Church of Scotland, the king and the General Assembly of the Kirk. 29 Baillie, ibid. « I approve while the Bishops’ wisdom in concealing that from our people, for they would not fail to take it for a policy of them, to bring us on that far, to yield first to the Lutherans and then to the Papists.” 30 5 p.85 A Summary Discourse Concerning the Work of Peace Ecclesiastical : How it May concure With the Aim of a Civil Confederation Among Protestant. Hambourg 1639. 31 « [ We] Shall by all lawful means labour to further and promote the same [the Presbyterian Church] » p.7, Donaldson Gordon, Scottish Historical Documents, Glasgow, 1999. p.201 32 They wrote to the king of England and Scotland as well as to the General Assembly of Scotland in July 1641. 33 p.88 n°19 and 20 Calendar State Papers, Domestic Series 1640 : Durie, His Petition to the Honourable House of Commons, p.iii This paper was read at the Commons then to the Convocation traditionally in charge of validating the religious reforms. 34 The Love of Peace and Truth, 29th November 1640. In his treaty, Durie affirmed that the truth in religion could only be achieved through a proper reading of the Scripture. The latter could only be made possible thanks to a reformation in education which would take into account the learning of foreign languages to help for a better understanding of the Scripture. The mastery of foreign languages would also enable a better communication and therefore, it would increase exchanges between people (divines) who would have access to this truth. 35 Comenius arrived in London on 21st September 1641. He believed the English Parliament had invited him to establish the reforms he had proposed few months before. He was soon disappointed. See also Patera, p.91 et Turnbull, “Plans of Comenius for his stay in England”, Acta Comeniana, 1958. 36 Batten, Dury, p. 97 37 Epistolary Discourse: Wherein (among other particulars) these following questions are briefly resolved. London, 1641. 38 The latters, proud and strong because of the military victories of Fairfax and Cromwell became very influential in Parliament and in the Westminster Assembly. 39 John Durie, A Demonstration of the Necessity of Settling some gospel Government Amongst the Chruches of Christ in this Nation. London, 1654. 40 Israels call to march out of Babylon unto Jerusalem: : opened in a sermon before the honourable House of Commons assembled in Parliament, November 26, 1645. 41 John Durie, A peace-maker without partiality and hypocrisie. Or the Gospel-way to make up the present breaches of brotherhood, ... by Mr. John Dury, one of the Assembly of Divines, &c. and now published by Samuel Hartlib, London, 1648. 42 See, Cottret Bernard, Terre d’Exile, l’Angleterre et ses Réfugiés. Paris : Aubier, 1985. 298 p.

THE FRENCH CONNECTION: BORDEAUX’S ‘SCOTTISH’ NETWORKS IN CONTEXT, C.1670-1720 STEVE MURDOCH, UNIVERSITY OF ST ANDREWS1

The evolution of overseas Scottish networks and communities in Europe has received renewed attention in the first few years of the new millennium.2 This scholarship draws on an older tradition that spans the 20th century.3 It is noteworthy that much of the recent research is centred on Scandinavia, Russia, the Baltic and the Habsburg lands while very little has focussed on France by comparison. What has been investigated tends to be military relations dating back to the middle-ages, the evolution of the Garde Écossais after 1449 and its demise to a symbolic unit in the years following the end of the Auld Alliance at the Scottish Reformation of 1560.4 Scottish military participation in France became revitalised again in earnest as Scottish Calvinists and Catholics alike enlisted in French service during the 1630s and 1640s as part of the ongoing European conflict orchestrated largely against the aggrandisement of Habsburg hegemony.5 However, relations between the two countries were not confined to the martial or the mercenary. Following the Scottish Reformation, religious houses across the continent continued to train an indigenous Scottish Catholic clergy, even despite the establishment of a native seminary at Glenlivet (Scalan) in the 18th century.6 The most important of the French colleges were those at Douai and Paris. Part of their remit was both to train scholars and priests but also to deal with Scottish Catholics in exile.7 Moreover, the issue of religion was not always that straightforward for post-Reformation Scots as many remained religiously ambivalent, or simply acquiesced to local religious orthodoxies. Thus once abroad, many Scots converted to the prevailing confession of faith. In Scandinavia the majority became Lutherans, in Russia the lure of Orthodoxy persuaded many, while some in Arabia became willing Muslims.8 France was no different from other countries in producing Scottish religious converts and, in

Scotland and Europe, Scotland in Europe

27

1665, Johan Lauder recorded the following of his countryman Alexander Strachan: For Mr Alexr its some 17 years since he came to France: he had nothing imaginable. Seeing he could make no fortune unless he turned his coat, he turned Papist.9

The similarity of behavioural patterns across Europe with regard to the issue of religious conversion alerts us to the possibility of exciting comparatives between Scottish networks with a French connection and their counterparts elsewhere. For example, if we consider the Scots in the Dutch Republic between 1660-1690, we find interesting parallels with Scots in France in the subsequent decades, and well after the political age heralded by the British political union of 1707. In these periods, both countries claimed commercial ties with Scotland dating back to the medieval period. Both hosted settled Scottish mercantile communities and permanent Scottish military formations, bolstered by a steady influx of confessional migrants. These were joined by significant numbers of political and religious refugees at specific times – from 1662-1688 in the case of the Dutch Republic and after 1689 in relation to France. Each location maintained institutes of higher learning that absorbed large numbers of those refugees and the politically ambivalent alike. Ultimately both governments fomented support for the exile component of the Scottish community, though with varying degrees of commitment and success. For the Scots who sought and found sanctuary in the Dutch Republic, this led to their triumphant return with William of Orange in 1689. Their countrymen who fled as a result of the return of the ‘Dutch’ exiles failed to make a success of the several attempts at Stuart restoration from their continental bases. Nonetheless the similarities are clearly worthy of further scrutiny. It is simply not possible in such a brief survey to consider in entirety GallicCaledonian connections across the early modern period. However, by focussing this survey on Bordeaux in the period between c.1670-1720, it is possible to establish Scottish network development in a French setting while also considering the impact of political upheavals on those relations. Such episodes must include the Franco-Stuart War (1666-1667), the Williamite Revolution (1689-1691), the Scottish declarations of war on France (1689 & 1702) and the British political union between Scotland and England (1707) as well as subsequent Jacobite influxes (1716-1718).

The Seventeenth Century Background Bordeaux’s Scottish connections have long been heralded, particularly in regard to the trade in wine and brandy. Undoubtedly the most accessible and

28

The French Connection: Bordeaux’s ‘Scottish’ Networks in Context, c.1670-1720

entertaining survey from a Scottish perspective remains Billy Kay and Cailean Maclean’s classic Knee Deep in Claret, though Louis Cullen’s The Brandy Trade gives a more academic assessment of the alcohol trade, particularly in the 18th century.10 At the dawn of the seventeenth century, this trade was aided by the attempt to establish new ‘Conservators’ in France. Arguably Scotland’s most important commercial position was the Conservator of the Scottish staple at Veere in the Dutch Republic.11 Since the mid-sixteenth century a Scottish Conservator had overseen the importation of Scottish staple goods to that city. He was aided by several other commercial factors and the position survived until the last Conservator left office in 1799.12 The idea of replicating this position in France had some pedigree. In 1602, Captain James Colville fell foul of the Royal Convention of Scottish Burghs for “exerceeing of ane pretendit office of conservatore at the toun of Caleis” and taxing ships and goods accordingly.13 Nonetheless, the establishment of ‘Conservators’ in France (and French Conservators in Britain and Ireland) was recognised under the terms of the 1606 treaty between King James and Henry IV.14 However, the actual appointment of a Conservator in France awaits substantiation in historical documentation. Nonetheless, alternative designations arose which led to the rise of a consular service run by well-placed merchants across Europe. Two Scots became particularly famous as British merchant consuls in Denmark-Norway in the second half of the century: Sir John Paul and Patrick Lyall.15 The innovation of supporting a British consul brought with it an extra charge of 2.1.8 rdl in ‘consular fees’ to skippers passing through the Danish Sound. While Scots in Denmark helped establish a strong consulate, there was no strict implementation of a uniform British consular system. Sometimes separate Scottish and English consuls operated in a particular city in addition to or despite the absence of a British post. The Aberdonian, William Forbes, became a merchant burgess of Bergen on 31 May 1706 and thereafter served as the Scottish consul and merchant in the city, even after the Treaty of Union of 1707.16 In other cities there were no consuls, but simply ‘factors’ or, in their French guise, négoçiants. Factors could be agents representing a specific individual, a particular commercial consortium, a Scottish burgh or even all the Scottish burghs collectively. It is clear that within France, a mix of all these categories existed. Thus, the appointment of factors such as James Broun in Bordeaux or Nicholas McMath in Dieppe representing the collective Scottish burghs was not uncommon.17 Factors were expected to be fluent in the local language and usually had a pedigree of association with their appointed town. We have letters and accounts from James Broun and his brother Robert, ‘Merchant in Bordeaux’, from the 1630s and 1640s revealing the family presence in the port over several decades.18 These are replete with information relating to the

Scotland and Europe, Scotland in Europe

29

Scottish commercial network in France at this period. They highlight the tight trading network that evolved between Scots in Paris (John Clerk), others in Bordeaux like Andrew McAlexander (to whom Robert Broun had his mail directed), and also to English merchants in Rouen (Benjamin Flecher). Clerk’s status is revealing as he is universally described as “Monsieur Jean la Clerq, merchant Écossais domenuant au Coeur Royall”, so presumably he was taking the role of merchant consul of the Scottish nation in France at this juncture, albeit without that title being officially accorded. The factoring system facilitated the growth of trade between Scottish and European ports. In 1659, the French finance minister Nicolas Fouquet imposed a duty on non-French vessels (50 sous per tun), though Scots were (apparently) exempted from it – at least they believed they were. That this had anything to do with the claimed Scottish descent of his associate and successor, Jean-Baptiste Colbert, is mere conjecture.19 Indeed the exemptions were partially overturned by Colbert, as Fouquet’s replacement, through changes to the foreign tariffs introduced in 1663, 1664 and 1667.20 What is sure is that the Convention of Scottish Burghs thereafter sought to have the duty removed for Scottish merchants. The protest from the Scottish Privy Council was swift, with a petition to the king being sent on 30 September 1663.21 An incentive was offered as a sweetener thereafter to allow goods transported to Scotland on French ships to be treated as natives, as the Scots were in France, and particularly in light on ongoing petition to reverse the 1663 increases.22 The process was interrupted due to the combined British declarations of war on France (issued in Scotland on 21 February 1666) in response to the French declaration of war on Charles II, under the terms of their Dutch alliance.23 Thus the status of Scottish merchants and their privileges remained uncertain, even after peace was declared, with Scots claiming they had them, the French not emphatically saying otherwise, and the Scottish burghs continually looking to have their rights restored!24 Regardless of the additional duty placed on wine in France and the interlude of war, the trade with Bordeaux continued to develop. As with merchants going elsewhere in Europe, the Scots would seldom buy produce, but rather exchange commodities. Ships carried goods such as cloth, skins and fish to European destinations, exchanging these on arrival for produce to re-import to Scotland. ‘Bills of Exchange’ were sent specifying a particular ‘cash value’ which the factor would honour. This credit system worked extremely well and goods were shipped back to the value of the credit held by the particular merchant(s) involved. In Sweden, the commodity sought by the Scots was iron.25 In 1719, Henry Kalmeter could report that for every ton of fish and malt the Scots exported to Sweden “they reckoned one skeppund [ships-pound] of iron, which gave them a fine bargain”.26 In France, the products sought were most often

30

The French Connection: Bordeaux’s ‘Scottish’ Networks in Context, c.1670-1720

cargoes of wine, claret and brandy, but also prunes, vinegar and honey.27 Once again, the exchange merchandise was fish, one observer noting in 1713 that previously “Our Export to France was vastly beyond our import from thence & yt our Salmond & herrings alone payed for our Wines and Brandies”.28 However, Bordeaux remained important to the maintenance of cloth manufactories in Aberdeen and Edinburgh in 1701, so there was a diversity of exports from Scotland to France ranging from fabrics to fish.29 Thus in 1618 the Hope of Grace arrived in Dundee with a cargo of 40 tuns of wine from Bordeaux to be divided between 19 merchants proportionate to the value of the cargo they had shipped out in the first place.30 Aberdeen ships frequently brought such quantities of wine to home from Bordeaux in the 1660s and 1670s for similar distribution.31 Other consortiums such as the ‘Glasgow Cartel’ amounted to 34 merchants who, led by John Cauldwell in 1674, sought to source the finest French wine.32 Their factor in Bordeaux was Henry Lavie, though he was only one of a number of Scots established in the town at that date. Contemporaneously with Lavie, Messers William Popple & Robert Stewart of Bordeaux consigned wine and brandy to Spreull & Co. in Leith aboard the Charles Haven.33 They also had dealings with Andrew Russell, one of Scotland’s most illustrious merchants of the 17th century.34 His business networks were extensive, both within the British Isles but also in Spanish Flanders (Bruges, Ostende), in France (Paris, Rouen, La Rochelle, Bordeaux), in the Americas (Surinam, Boston), as well as within the Dutch Republic (Amsterdam, Haarlem, Leiden, Veere, Dordrecht and Rotterdam).35 Further north in Europe, Russell maintained at least 18 Scottish contacts in Sweden (Stockholm, Norrköping, Riga), five in Denmark-Norway (Elsinore and Copenhagen), 15 in Bremen and Hamburg and another 15 across Danzig, Memel, Berlin and Königsberg.36 Five of these men eventually formed a jointstock company, formally constituted on 1 January 1684.37 The partners were friends from Stirling, Patrick Thomson (Sweden), Robert Turnbull (Scotland) and Andrew Russell (The Dutch Republic). Alexander Baird in Stirling (Scotland) and James Thomson in Norrköping (Sweden) both became partners later. The two Scottish-based partners, Baird and Turnbull, sourced coarse wool for Rotterdam and finer cloth, gloves, raw wool, stockings, tallow and herring for Sweden. Russell too provided goods for Sweden from the Netherlands, while the Swedish-based merchants sourced iron and copper to be shipped to Scotland, Amsterdam or where instructed (including France). Turnbull sent coal to La Rochelle and cloth to Bordeaux, where salt, wine and brandy were collected and sent by Russell in Rotterdam for re-distribution, often to the Thomsons in Sweden.38 Thus it is impossible to think of any Scottish-Bordeaux

Scotland and Europe, Scotland in Europe

31

connection without due consideration of the wider Scottish (or French) commercial networks in operation. Other associates of the so-called ‘Russell’ consortium included Messers Robert Lindsay and Robert Lyall of Dundee, though these relations were not without difficulty.39 The Dundonians defaulted on bills of exchange issued by Edward Nelthorp of London which he had issued in relation to consignments of Bordeaux wine. This led to a protracted pursuit through the courts by Nelthorp which involved Russell due to his standing surety for the Dundee merchants.40 The reason for their defaulting is not made clear (we only have Nelthorp’s testimony that they had), but a letter from a Scottish skipper in 1675 indicates that there was something of a lull, or unevenness in the Bordeaux trade. There were several reasons for the disruption. Firstly, some burghs were exempt from wine duty within Scotland - Dundee by the orders of Charles I in 1633, while Edinburgh’s “free” status was ambiguous, and thought to do with a gift by the city to the Duke of Lauderdale, the effective viceroy of Scotland in all but name during this period.41 In December 1673, the Scottish parliament passed an act imposing new duties on the importation of brandy amounting to £10 sterling on every 12 gallons and 6 shillings per pint for excise duty, thus raising costs.42 A third problem resulted from the fact that most Scottish ships were “foreign built”, and therefore eligible to be taken as prize by French privateers during the ongoing Franco-Dutch war.43 Thus Scots wishing to trade with France had to run the gauntlet of the privateers. Many Scots were simply not intimidated by this prospect due to the size and capability of Scots merchantmen, renowned for their own abilities as fighting vessels.44 Of Thomas Smith’s ship Hope arriving in Bordeaux in 1676, William Popple observed “none will meddle with such great Scotch vessels as his”.45 Nonetheless, getting into Bordeaux was one thing – obtaining a cargo was something quite different. Between October 1675 and January 1676, Thomas Smith was forced to seek intervention from Russell as he feared being laid up in Bordeaux over the winter and even losing his restless crew.46 Simultaneously, John Caldom – another Scottish skipper – also complained regarding the lack of cargo and noting his debt to Mr Popple for looking after him in the port. His letters were directed to his merchant, James Gordon (who resided at the house of Andrew Russell) in Rotterdam and his uncle Robert Caldom in the same city.47 Smith eventually secured cargo towards the end of the January 1676, loading brandy destined for the Rotterdam merchants William Nieuport, Nicolaes and Jacobus Van Heymenberg, Jacobus Devreiter and Cornelis Houtman, with a small quantity for John Doville of London, also for delivery in Rotterdam.48 It has been established elsewhere that it took until November 1676 for the Bordeaux market to recover, only to become depressed again in May 1677 due

32

The French Connection: Bordeaux’s ‘Scottish’ Networks in Context, c.1670-1720

to a bumper year that flooded the wine market as far north as Stockholm.49 But of interest from the networking perspective here is that all the cargo on Smith’s ship belonged to Dutch or English merchants, though freighted by Scottish ships and facilitated in part by Scots in Bordeaux and Rotterdam. This underscores the fact that not all Scottish-Bordeaux connections are overt. Indeed, within such sources as customs-books, where port of departure and destination are recorded, this would look like a straightforward Dutch-French transaction. It is also clear from the bills of exchange that accompanied the cargo that other Dutch entrepreneurs were part of this wider circle of commercial associates, with Andrew Russell being asked by Popple & Stewart to pay money to “The Widow Herinca & Son” in the city of Amsterdam.50 The survival of such paperwork is thus crucial to our understanding of the processes involved in the Scottish contribution to Bordeaux trade by alerting us to the less than obvious financial investments that facilitated it. Home and foreign based Scots kept up their trade thereafter, apparently oblivious to embargoes imposed in England designed to inhibit imports to Britain from France.51 Of equal significance was a declaration published by the King of France on 28 November 1676 that relaxed the law allowing for the seizure of Scottish ships. William Popple informed Andrew Russell that: Here is this day published a declaration by the King of France that all English, Scotch, or Irish ships having there passeports in due forme shall not be carried up by any of men of Warre or Capers, which will be some advantage to Scotch ships that may come to seek fraight for the future for if the passeports be good there will not be soe much difference made between them and English as was heretofore because of their being forreigne built.52

With such incentive, more Scots arrived in Bordeaux, many undoubtedly hoping to exploit the self-imposed English embargo on French wine and brandy by reexporting it south from Scotland.53 Henry Johly (Jolly) loaded Edward Burd’s Amity of Leith with 6 tuns of wine on the account of George St Claire, merchant of Edinburgh.54 Henry Lavie, factor for the ‘Glasgow Cartel’, detailed bills to be drawn upon Mr Delprat of Bordeaux, but also for remittance for the accounts of Robert Doock of Ayr, William Cunningham of Ayr and Robert McCure of Glasgow.55 Lavie gave advice to Russell not to remit to him the proceeds from the sale of six packs of Galloway cloth Doock had sent to Rotterdam, but rather to direct the proceeds to Mr James Taudin in London to whom Lavie owed money.56 He also instructed Russell that in future it was better to direct all bills to be drawn in Bordeaux, for their mutual friends would get a better deal than if they did so in the French capital, “for there is always losse from this place to Paris” – a point reiterated by the Paris-based merchant William Gordon in 1718.57 Consequently we can see that Lavie served as factor for several Scottish

Scotland and Europe, Scotland in Europe

33

companies and individuals in numerous countries, as well as for French, English and Dutch concerns. In 1680 Ralph Holland, a correspondent in Bordeaux, ordered his brotherin-law Andrew Leslie to pay Andrew Russell 300 guilders which he drew upon the skipper John Ferguson. On the same bill, Walter Rankin informed Russell that Ferguson had loaded and sailed for Ayr, while Robert McCure of Glasgow had shipped wine for Glasgow and with his signature noted that he wrote in the name of Henry Lavie, thus alerting us to the fact that Lavie himself employed other Scottish factors in Bordeaux itself.58 Meanwhile the other company, Popple & Stewart, dealt once more with the Russell skippers, Thomas Smith and John Caldom, who were both in Bordeaux in October 1680, the latter loaded and leaving, Smith still awaiting freight.59 Interestingly, though the Henry Lavie and Messers Popple & Stewart appear to have operated as separate factoring agencies, their correspondence reveals that they actually both traded with the same Ayr and Glasgow merchants in Scotland. Just as Lavie did in the same year, Popple & Stewart also consigned goods to Messers Cunningham, Moore & Comp as well as “severall [other] merchts. of Ayre”.60 In a subsequent letter we find out that the value of this business to Ayr amounted to 1252 Guilders split (unevenly) between John Moore, John Fergusson, Ralph Holland and Robert Doock.61 It is also interesting to note that none of these merchants had been in Bordeaux themselves to meet with the factors, but relied on Andrew Russell in Rotterdam to guarantee their business with the contesting Scottish négoçiants in the town. He could only do this through the constant correspondence of the factors, and equally importantly, his skippers.62 Other Scots also had ties to the town, and certainly had links to the Andrew Russell network, albeit they were very discreet. For example, one letter of 1688 is directed to John Charteris of Edinburgh lamenting the boisterous weather of the spring, but consoling that the vineyards were “prettie faire” and should produce a vintage nonetheless.63 What is more, this correspondence also connects Bordeaux directly with Swedish trade for the simple reason that the Scottish Privy Council, after petition from Scottish merchants, appointed John Charteris as an intermediary in Scottish-Swedish commerce in lieu of an accredited consul.64 Other correspondence from the 1680s also linked Bordeaux to Scots operating both from their native country and elsewhere in Europe. For instance, John Rowan, a merchant of Greenock on behalf of the Marquis of Montrose sent herring from his home-port to Bordeaux aboard James Campbell’s Isobell of Glasgow in November 1683.65 Beyond Scotland, the skipper George Dundas submitted accounts to his merchant that revealed he had travelled from Bordeaux to Riga in 1689.66 Thomas Kirkpatrick maintained a correspondence with Mr Michell of Dublin, but also with Peter Wallace and John Scott in

34

The French Connection: Bordeaux’s ‘Scottish’ Networks in Context, c.1670-1720

Geneva.67 Wallace, however, was none other than Sir Patrick Hume of Polwarth, a refugee from the anti-Calvinist regime of James VII in Scotland.68 He used the pseudonym Peter Wallace (among others) to hide his identity from government agents that might wish him harm. He travelled with a small cohort to places where he might find support from sympathisers – and this he (like other refugees) succeeded in doing in places where Russell had established strong commercial connections.69 From the Bordeaux correspondence in the National Archives of Scotland we know that those with existing links to the port, like William Cunningham of Ayr, sent correspondence, news of political developments and money to Hume while he was there. The money from Cunningham was directed to Mr Kirkpatrick, to be drawn upon Monsieur Mabill, while unsigned letters gave news of the new legislation drawn up in relation to religious toleration of Catholics.70 The Bordeaux connection continued even once Hume had moved on to Montpellier and then back to Geneva with Kirkpatrick directing correspondence to him in these locations and noting that he had also received correspondence for Hume from Mr Michell in Dublin.71 Thus Bordeaux played host to one small but important group of Calvinist refugees, while her merchant networks in the port and Scotland, Ireland and the Dutch Republic all sponsored them to some degree.

The Williamite Revolution(s) In the following decades, the notion of Bordeaux playing host to subversives increased dramatically in reaction to the changing political situation in Britain. Fears of a Catholic alliance between Louis XIV and James VII & II prompted both the ‘Glorious Revolution’ in England (1688) and the subsequent deposition of Scotland’s Catholic king and the selection of William and Mary of Orange as his replacement in Scotland in 1689. This led to an exodus of Jacobite soldiers and supporters, the majority of whom followed their king to France where they established a court in exile at Saint-Germain-en-Laye.72 As there was simply no accommodation for all the followers at court, many were recruited into the small Jacobite army at Lille in Flanders.73 By 1701, it was claimed that some 20,000 Scots and English troops were in French service, though the author of the report optimistically believed they were preparing to desert the French en-masse.74 The regime-change in the British Isles had some impact on trade, for William of Orange continued to pursue his anti-French agenda, and thus dragged Scotland into his wars. The Scottish Privy Council issued their formal declaration of war against Louis XIV “as a great disturber of Christendom” on 6 August 1689, forbidding all trade, correspondence and “meddling” with the French thereafter.75 Further, letters of “marque and reprisal” were directed against all French shipping and associated “Irish rebels” and any ship trading

Scotland and Europe, Scotland in Europe

35

with France could be taken prize.76 Nonetheless, even ardent Presbyterians like Russell and Thomson could see that this hampered development of both national commerce and individual business concerns. Thus within only a couple of months, Sir John Hall, Lord Provost of Edinburgh wrote to the Privy Council on behalf of the Scottish burghs demanding the return of papers purloined from Viscount Tarbat. These papers, issued by the “Great Council of France and the Parliament of Rouen”, proved the Scots still had certain exemptions and privileges in France and the Duchy of Normandy and the royal burghs wanted them returned, presumably in order to continue to enforce them.77 The Privy Council upheld the request for the return of the documents leaving the status of Scottish trade uncertain, but in any case, by January 1692 passes were recorded for five Glasgow and one Leith ship to travel from Scotland to Bordeaux to maintain the trade in “permitted” goods.78 During the Anglo-Dutch wars Scots had been in a similar situation of being at war with one of her major trading partners. Nonetheless, solutions were found that allowed for the continued residence of her Scottish communities, service for Scots in the Dutch army and navy, and for allowing commerce and conflict to continue simultaneously. During the second Anglo-Dutch War, the Conservator, William Davidson even managed to transport Norwegian contraband goods to British colonies in the Americas aboard Dutch ships.79 Similarly, during the third Anglo-Dutch War, the refugees escaping the regime of Charles II at home used their contacts in neural countries to facilitate Scottish-Dutch trade.80 These included Andrew Russell. Building upon previous experiences of trading while the combatant countries are at war, it is little wonder that Scots in general (and Russell in particular) were among the first to facilitate continued links between Scotland and France by involving networks in neutral nations (Scottish or otherwise), or through the more obvious route of smuggling.81 However, the more subtle deployment of ‘neutral flag’ tells us so much more about commercial connections and Scottish networks. For example, the Thomson-Russell employed ship, Maria (The Mary), was registered as Swedish in 1694, despite being owned by the Scot James Jaffray and skippered by Jasper Stewart conveniently a burgess of Stockholm.82 By registering the ship as a Swede, the owners and merchants could use Swedish neutrality as a means of getting the ship from Aberdeen in Scotland to La Rochelle in France and then on to Sweden, without becoming subject to the embargo on British ships trading with France. Indeed, in 1694 an exceptionally high number of skippers of Scottish origin, or others who traded in commodities from Scotland, passed the Danish Sound under Swedish or Danish flag such as Robert Wilson of Åbo, who sailed between St Martins and his ‘home’ port in Finland.83 While the Treaty of Ryswick caused a cessation of hostilities in 1697, tensions were still fraught between the ‘British’ and French kings which had a

36

The French Connection: Bordeaux’s ‘Scottish’ Networks in Context, c.1670-1720

knock on effect on trade.84 In 1699 an administrator in Guienne province observed that “Les Anglais viennent peu à Bordeaux; on y voit quelques Ecossais”.85 So whilst direct English trade in the port all but ceased, those Scots who remained in the town continued to trade with Scottish ships, flagged as Swedes or otherwise. One of the merchants trading with Bordeaux openly at this time was John Watson of Edinburgh. His main factors in the port were Messers [John] Mercier & [Archibald] Galt with whom he maintained a regular correspondence over a number of years.86 From these letters, we again find the same patterns as with previous merchant-factor relations – notice of goods sent (inc. beaver hats), bills exchanged and which skippers (like James Whyte) had arrived in the port and been loaded.87 Again we find the third parties involved in Bordeaux transactions including the London-Scot James Foulis, a correspondent of Andrew Russell and onetime Master of the Royal Scottish Corporation in London, and William Fraser, another London-Scot.88 The latter was employed to forward correspondence to Mercier in Bordeaux on numerous occasions.89 In the midst of their transactions, the War of the Spanish Succession (17021713) broke out.90 Simmering tensions had already seen the impounding of French ships carrying cargo between Belfast, Scotland and Bordeaux by Royal Navy ships as early as 1700.91 On 6 September 1701, the French Council of Commerce responded by issuing an arrêt forbidding the importation of all textile products, alcoholic beverages, and metal products as well as raising duties on indigenous goods from the British Isles.92 Scotland officially declared war on France on 12 May 1702, just over a week after England, the reasons cited being because Louis XIV stopped “liberty of commerce and declared the pretended Prince of Wales to be King of England, Scotland and Ireland and has influenced Spain to concur with him in this indignity”.93 Merchants who traded with France were to be severely dealt with and risked the death penalty. Scottish troops were thereafter poured into Flanders to fight the French, yet trade with Bordeaux and other French ports continued, apparently unabated.94 In August 1703, the Bordeaux factor Robert Gordon claimed he wished to return to Scotland due to the ongoing conflict. He sought a pass from the authorities to allow him to send the Robert of Leith from Bordeaux to Scotland, crewed by Scottish and English prisoners whose freedom he had ‘bought’ in the port. These were to bring home his belongings so that he “may withdraw from France”.95 The pass was granted, but Gordon remained in the city and continued trading throughout the war and, indeed, well into the 1720s.96 The goods he sent home on Robert can only be guessed at, but they travelled with a British pass legitimising them! His decision to remain was aided by the selective policies of the French Council of Commerce. They soon realised that total commercial warfare was damaging France and quickly relaxed their arrêt to facilitate the importation of goods from Scotland and Ireland, both as a way of ensuring

Scotland and Europe, Scotland in Europe

37

supply of essential produce and to foment divisions within Queen Anne’s kingdoms.97 Passports were issued to Scots and Irishmen living in France thereafter to trade in goods including Scottish textiles and lead, and eventually the Council even allowed selected English goods to be imported on Scottish and Irish ships. While Scots could thus openly enter France, the problem of the return journey remained. An act of the Scottish parliament, ‘The Wine Act’ (1703) was passed to help legislate a partial solution.98 It was decreed that all other legislation pertaining to the importation of wine and spirits was rescinded and the duties, exemptions and privileges restored to the same as they had been under James VI – a direct indication that the Scottish executive intended to both fight and trade with France at the same time. Westminster knew that once in Scotland, French wine (obviously imported via third countries) would flood across the Scottish border to the detriment of their tax revenue and advantage of French wine-producers and Scottish vintners alike, but the act was passed under the seal of Queen Anne, so French wine could be trafficked regardless. In any case, by 1707, the French Council started to issue passports for Englishmen to trade with France as well, thus removing much of the jealousies between the nations just in time for the remodelling of Scotland and England into the new unitary state of Great Britain under the treaty of Union of 1707.99 While the combatant states thus all found solutions to facilitate commercial links despite being engaged in formal hostilities, other methods were being deployed, again including the old resort to the employment of neutral shipping to beat the blockades. Not only were Scandinavian ships chiefly targeted, but they were also liberated from the 50 sous per tun duty previously imposed by Fouquet.100 Once again the Scots were quick to seize the initiative as evidenced by John Watson’s employment of Andreas Christianson, master of the Anna af Tunsberg (Tønsberg).101 She carried deals of timber from Norway to Bordeaux on behalf of the Edinburgh and London-Scots, Watson and Fraser. Mercier in Bordeaux was instructed by the former that 3/8 of the value of the deals that arrived on Anna should to be converted into 3/8 of her homeward lading as described: viz, nyn tuns of Brandie wyn and the rest in claret such as is most agreeable to our palets & what the outward loading should com short of the homeward loading, that you should value your self upon Mr William Fraser merchant in London or me […] I desire you load no green wyns for my account but be sure to load the good wyns for green wyn will not sell here therefore be sure to send me none but good wyne.102

Even the sending of the instructions relating to this transaction are informative. Watson in Edinburgh forwarded his letters to William Fraser in London, with

38

The French Connection: Bordeaux’s ‘Scottish’ Networks in Context, c.1670-1720

advice to “forward them to your correspondent at Amsterdam, that he may forward them to his correspondent at Geneva: and from thence to Bordeaux”.103 War or no war, these Scots were to have their brandy, wine and claret - and it is clear from these letters that Andreas Christianson’s “homeward” voyage to Norway was intended to include a stop in Leith on the way. Indeed figures have been calculated which reveal that between 1707 and 1712 some 109 Scottish and a staggering 387 Irish ships entered Bordeaux with Council of Commerce passports, let alone the neutrals, genuine or disguised.104 So much for the French arrêt and the Royal Navy blockade!

Bordeaux Connections in the post-Union Period Following the Union of 1707, Robert Gordon remained one of the most important British factors in Bordeaux. He and his compatriots continued to facilitate trade both within the city, across the country and beyond the French borders. Domestically, his brother served as a factor in La Rochelle, and his kinsman, William Gordon in a similar capacity in Paris.105 For his overseas operations, he again linked into kin networks, dealing with James Gordon in Edinburgh on numerous occasions.106 His international trade was made easier by the Treaty of Utrecht that ended the British-French conflict in April 1713, though it had continued largely undisturbed anyway. Nonetheless, in the months following the treaty, instructions such as the following were sent: Articles in agreement between Robert Hay, doctor of medicine in Kirkcaldy, Arthur Clephane, merchant in Edinburgh, and Alexander Simpson, writer there, as taking burden for Captain James Clephane, commander of the good ship the (blank), on one part, and Henry Eccles and David Craigie, merchants in Edinburgh, taking burden for Thomas Pillans of London, merchant, on the other part, relating to a charter party, 18 May 1713, for a voyage from the Firth of Forth to Dantzick and from there to [Robert Gordon in] Bordeaux where the ship now is.107

This is one of many examples that highlights the time-honoured pattern of multiple concerned parties across a number of locations taking an interest in one or all legs of the voyages that involved Bordeaux-Scots. Further, the factor’s advice was sought for the quality of the wine and brandy and the market for fish from Scotland as before, while the letters are explicit that London served as a key exchange-hub financing the transactions.108 Gordon also served confirmed markets beyond France, such as those in Spain for Scottish salmon while triangular trade between Scotland, Bordeaux and third locations remained a feature of the Scottish-Bordeaux trade as they had done previous to the Union. This is particularly instructive in relation to the ongoing

Scotland and Europe, Scotland in Europe

39

engagement of Scottish factors in both Bordeaux and Rotterdam.109 Indeed the post-Union Scots John Steuart (Inverness), Robert Gordon (Bordeaux), Robert McKay (Rotterdam) behaved in exactly the same way Robert Turnbull (Edinburgh), Andrew Russell (Rotterdam) and Messers Popple & Stewart (Bordeaux) had some 30 years before the British political marriage of 1707. Their business was made simpler by the British parliament’s decision to formally allow the importation of French wine directly on 15 March 1711.110 However, there was an additional complication to the Scottish-(British)-French association – the arrival of Jacobite exiles in town.

The Jacobites and Bordeaux Some of the individuals already noted above were Jacobites, some were Hanoverians, while others were politically ambivalent. Robert Gordon unquestionably entertained Jacobites sympathisers and was known to them as ‘Mr Lyburn’.111 Further, Bordeaux hosted an institution sympathetic to the Jacobites; the Irish College established in 1603. This proved to be more than a simple seminary, but certainly a base for refugees such as those “18 Irish scholars, driven from their country by persecution” noted by Queen Mary in 1699.112 It is probable that any Scottish Jacobites would have retained links with members of this institution, particularly when high-ranking Jacobites such as the Duke of Berwick resided in town.113 The main Scottish influx arrived after the failed 1715 uprising and included Major-General Buchan, General George Hamilton, Major Patrick Fleming, Cluny Ogilvie, Malcolm of Grange, Steuart of Invernytie and majors Nairn, Hepburn, [Patrick] Fleming and Leslie, Captain Alexander Young, and Captain David George, to name but a few. All of these maintained a demonstrable relationship with Robert Gordon.114 They acquired two houses that they collectively called ‘The Scotch House’ (also called ‘The Scots’ College’). Major Patrick Fleming described the buildings as being half a league from the port and purchased by eight refugees who “endeavour to pass the time as agreeably and frugally as they can”.115 Not all of these were soldiers; one of these was a Mr Brisbane, while advocate George Mackenzie of Dalvine was also among the exiles with his companion, Alexander Ochterlonie.116 In December, just as the Scots College opened, Robert Gordon received a list of 33 persons from James VIII, with orders to pay them a month’s subsistence of 585 lives.117 To these were added another 20 men from the crew of Captain David George’s ship, Bonaccord who Robert Arbuthnot (a factor in Rouen) noted had been living in Bordeaux since February 1715 “eating her [the ship’s] provisions and being paid their full pay, and have done very little for it”.118 Further, they were joined by escapee Jacobite soldiers who had seized the prison ship transporting them to slavery in the American

40

The French Connection: Bordeaux’s ‘Scottish’ Networks in Context, c.1670-1720

plantations. Their leader, an officer called Charteris, has left us an (unintentionally) entertaining account of the steadfastness of the Highland soldiers, the mutinous nature of the crew at sea and their debauchery on shore, and the eventual disembarkation of “our people” in Bordeaux.119 Gordon took the initiative and sent several of the common soldiers “away on Scotch ships” as James VIII had no use of them and they were ‘un-attained’ at home and thus in no imminent danger of arrest.120 Similarly, he oversaw the departure of several officers, including Keppoch, MacDougal of Lorne and his brother, as well as continuing to sustain “the poor people that came with Charteris” - the common Highland soldiery.121 The large community of around 100 Jacobites that gathered in Bordeaux did not remain together for long as James VIII ordered ‘his people’ to disperse from the town (in small groups) in February 1717 and to make for the Spanish border or French interior.122 From there, they would eventually become entangled in the ill-fated Spanish-backed Jacobite attempt of 1719. More crucially from the perspective of this essay, they had to go due to the financial drain on Gordon, the general “deadness of commerce” in Bordeaux as well as the increasing dissent among the exiles themselves.123 James VIII again ordered that his men should retire from public life to avoid drawing attention to themselves, and for more to return to Scotland to stop being a burden on the merchants.124 Of the exiles, the plan was that only Colin Campbell and Lord Tullibardine should remain within the port. Jacobites arrived and departed thereafter, Robert Gordon being simply too good and wealthy a contact to overlook.125 But Campbell noted in September that “I found it inconvenient to stay near Bordeaux” so he removed about 6 leagues away, while Lord Tullibardine retired “a greater distance from Bordeaux, I think above 20 leagues”.126 Gordon received instruction to pay for no one after June 1718, though he produced a list of 36 gentlemen he felt obliged to support thereafter127 Eventually though, even the Stuart court itself had to leave France in 1718, moving to Rome and thus shifting Jacobite focus away France itself. The evidence contained in these sources tells us a lot about ‘Scottish’ Bordeaux. The port could (temporarily) absorb a significant Scottish refugee community, and Robert Gordon remained an important point of contact and crucial financier.128 For sure other structures emerged in the town that continued to foster Jacobite sympathies, such as the Irish Masonic Lodge called, ironically perhaps, Lodge L’Anglaise.129 But even in the peak of Scottish Jacobite intrigue, the real link remained trade. The Duke of Mar wrote to one Scottish merchant: If you find it safe to send it over in one of your ships that come to Bordeaux for wine, he [George Keith] desires you may do it.130

Scotland and Europe, Scotland in Europe

41

Jacobites in Rome noted that they always drank toasts in “good Scotch claret” or “good Bordeaux”, suggesting a Scottish provenance for their tipple, probably via Robert Gordon.131 Certainly he wrote to Mar to tell him a consignment of “Margaux Claret” had been dispatched to him in December 1718.132 Bordeaux merchants also travelled to London where they were given such commodities as snuff by London-Scots for delivery to the Duke of Mar in exile.133 Nor must we think that it was only Jacobites who frequented the town. We know that Hanoverian traders and agents also entered the port, even opening dialogue with the Jacobites themselves.134 But more importantly, many traders were politically ambivalent. James Wauchope of Edinburgh engaged the Scottish factors Messers Sampson & Sandilands in Bordeaux throughout 1717-1719, and his letters and instructions to them are noticeably devoid of political content, focussing on “well coloured white wine” and multiple hogsheads of claret.135 Moreover, Sampson and Sandilands, unlike Gordon, simply do not feature significantly in Jacobite correspondence. Their particular political loyalty remains to be established, though on one of the lists of Jacobites in circulation, it is clear Mr Sandilands did help to finance some of the sick among his countrymen.136 This is not unusual, nor can it be taken as a sign of Jacobitism as many Scots from opposing sides have been recorded as helping out their distressed countrymen while stranded abroad.137 More importantly for Gordon and Sandilands, trade was trade, and commercial priority could often outweigh political, dynastic or religious conviction. Even Robert Gordon maintained his connections with Scots ‘at home’ during the Jacobite period, trading with men like Wauchope. Their correspondence contains little mention of Jacobitism.138 The Jacobite influx had seriously taxed his funds and he was even forced to exclaim that “I do not grudge my pains and would as little grudge my money for the king’s service, but I shall not be able to serve if not supplied”.139 Colin Campbell clearly agreed writing; “Gordon has gone a greater length to serve all here than could be expected in one in his circumstances”.140 The extent to which his Bordeaux business must have been really successful is actually highlighted by his ability to continue trading in the decades after the Jacobites left, regardless of the financial losses incurred by him during their stay.141

Conclusion From whatever political background, or simply those that arrived for the love of wine, Scots maintained links with Bordeaux throughout the early modern period. Some operated as factors, some as vintners, many were itinerant merchants or fleeing refugees.142 It is interesting that the Bordeaux trade was seldom a solely Scottish-French affair. All the merchants’ papers scrutinised reveal networks stretching across several countries; they show both speculative

42

The French Connection: Bordeaux’s ‘Scottish’ Networks in Context, c.1670-1720

and commissioned journeys to the port and reveal that business partners were often Scots, but not just those based in Scotland. Often the financiers or main merchants were based elsewhere in Europe, especially ports famed for commodities not available in France (Norwegian timber, Swedish iron), particularly where triangular trade could be established to generate more capital. Further, the networks of the Bordeaux-Scots included Frenchmen, Dutchmen, Englishmen – indeed anyone with whom commercial links could be established. Even scrutiny of Jacobite sources suggests, that this could even mean trading with your sworn political enemies, so long as the price was right.143 The importance of international links are clearly demonstrated in times of conflict. When officialdom tried to intervene (Scottish, English, British, French), alternative ways were found to circumnavigate obstacles erected to trade – the re-flagging of ships, the engagement of neutrals to conduct trade, or the simple art of smuggling. The upheavals of the Franco-Stuart War, the Williamite Revolution, the subsequent Franco-Scottish Wars, or even the Treaty of Union and the rise of Jacobitism – none of these appear to have hampered the strengthening of Scottish-Bordeaux connections, indeed they seem in their own way to have strengthened them by forcing a broadening out of the commercial dimension to encompass international hubs such as Rotterdam, Hamburg, Stockholm and Danzig – each one having a role to play at a given period. It is also worthy of note that Robert Gordon helped fit out idle Jacobite ships for voyages to the Caribbean thus adding to Bordeaux’s existing trans-Atlantic networks.144 Nor must we overlook the significance of the Scottish trade in Bordeaux through the purchase of mundane items for the ships that traded there. Provisions were bought for the ships, and money spent by their crews. These included daily consumables such as beef, butter, cabbages, bushels of peas, dried fish, vinegar, candles and some wine for the ship’s crew.145 Added to sundries like postage, “taking out of ballast” and the like, this smaller spending still must have been important to the ships chandlers and traders of the port. Also, the sailors and soldiers spent money on food and beer in the taverns – for better or worse from a cultural perspective! – which in turn contributed to the economy of the port. However, it must be said that this remains only a preliminary survey. There is little within it that informs us about women, for instance. We have only uncovered scant information that can show that some females maintained interests in both Scotland and Bordeaux, but usually only in relation to the estates of their dead husbands. Christian Kynnimonth’s husband had been factor in Bordeaux in the 1650s. She exchanged her rights to a tenement in Bruntisland in return for an income of £20 per year, presumably to live on in Bordeaux.146 Marion Davie, the widow of George Faire of Bordeaux, similarly remained in

Scotland and Europe, Scotland in Europe

43

France after his death.147 And we know Robert Gordon was married, as John Steuart often sent his lady his respects.148 From the Jacobite letters we learn something different. For sure some women did travel with their husbands to St Germains such as Lady Macdonald, her mother as well as the wife and daughters of George Mackenzie.149 In Bordeaux too, some Scottish ladies arrived, including the wife and family of Captain David George.150 But the arrival of women in the port does not appear to have been the norm. For example, while Mr Charteris lived in exile in Bordeaux, his wife remained in the Dutch Republic at Breda.151 George Mackenzie’s female companion “Pegg” also lived apart – John Paterson writing “let me know if you have heard lately from poor Pegg. I pity her with all my heart, but I hope you and she will yet see better days together”.152 But a full survey of church registers, might tell us more in relation to the role of Scottish women in the port. For instance, intermarriage patterns between the Scots and French, a feature that has been used to great effect elsewhere in explaining political, civic and commercial relations in other parts of Europe.153 If the Bordeaux-Scots behaved in a similar way, then that in itself could explain much about who the Scots traded with among the indigenous population. Finally, we must remind ourselves that Bordeaux was something of a random choice for this essay. Similar surveys of La Rochelle, Rouen or Paris may have produced similar, or markedly differing results – we cannot anticipate what such research might reveal until it is undertaken. Nor must we make extraordinary claims for the Scottish presence in the city. We still have no quantitive data for the commercial community and their families, though it is clear that at all times there were several firms in operation with an unknown number of employees (Scottish or French). Nor have we proven any significant link between the Franco-Scottish regiments, or religious houses to Scots living in Bordeaux in the same way as it has been previously demonstrated in regard to the Dutch cities in the 1680s. Thus another of the questions asked in the introduction remains unanswered – can we compare the Dutch Republic and France? The speculative answer to that is no, for the simple reason that Bordeaux did not appear to host a sizeable enough Scottish community to absorb the refugees. While the 1680s exile community were easily hosted by the Dutch-Scots, the later Bordeaux exiles were dispersed within months as the settled merchants simply could not provide for them. Further, there was an active will in the Dutch Republic to make a good, symbiotic use of the arrivals in a variety of educational, political, military and naval capacities due to the mutual empathy of refugees and recipient communities alike. In France there appeared to been less concern for the final political outcome, particularly after the failure of the 1715 rising.154 There was no common religion or shared ideology to bind the Jacobites to the French and the intrigues, though

44

The French Connection: Bordeaux’s ‘Scottish’ Networks in Context, c.1670-1720

interesting, were thought more of by the exiles than the executive of France. Superficially, the Scottish-Rotterdam/Scottish-Bordeaux comparative looked plausible, but in the end we appear not to have been comparing like with like. What drove the latter relationship forward in the eighteenth century was not anything to do with an Auld Alliance, nor confessional or political considerations. The hinge-pin of the connection proved to be the one that originated it in the first place - the growing market for good Bordeaux wine, claret and brandy - wherever Scots could both enjoy and/or make a profit from it.

Notes 1

I am most grateful to Kathrin Zickermann (St Andrews), Allan Macinnes (Aberdeen) and Guy Rowlands (St Andrews) for their gracious help in freely providing sources and/or useful comments on this paper. I am also extremely indebted to Alexia Grosjean, my wife, for helping me with the French language sources quoted. 2 D. Catterall, Community Without Borders: Scots Migrants and the Changing Face of Power in the Dutch Republic, c.1600-1700 (Leiden, 2002); R. Wills, The Jacobites and Russia, 1715-1750 (East Linton, 2002); A. Grosjean, An Unofficial Alliance: Scotland and Sweden, 1569-1654 (Leiden, 2003); D. Worthington, Scots in Habsburg Service, 1618-1648 (Leiden, 2004); A. Grosjean and S. Murdoch, eds., Scottish Communities Abroad in the Early Modern Period (Leiden, 2005); S. Murdoch, Network North: Scottish Kin, Commercial and Covert Associations in Northern Europe, 1603-1746 (Leiden, 2006). 3 T. Fischer, The Scots in Germany (Edinburgh, 1902); T. Fischer, The Scots in East and West Prussia (Edinburgh, 1903); T. Fischer, The Scots in Sweden (Edinburgh, 1907); A.F. Steuart, ed., Papers Relating to the Scots in Poland, 1576-1793 (Edinburgh, 1915); Von Ilse von Wechmar and R. Biederstedt, ‘Die Schottische Einwanderung in Vorpommern im 16. und frühen 17. Jahrhundert’ in Greifswald-Stralsunder Jahrbuch, Band 5 (1965), pp.7-28; T.L. Christensen, ‘Scots in Denmark in the sixteenth century’ in Scottish Historical Review, 49:2 (1970), pp.125-145; A. BiegaĔska, ‘Scottish merchants and traders in seventeenth and eighteenth century Warsaw’, Scottish Slavonic Review, no.5 (Autumn 1985); T.C. Smout, ed., Scotland and Europe 1200-1850 (Edinburgh, 1986); A. BiegaĔska, ‘Andrew Davidson, (1591-1660) and his descendants’, Scottish Slavonic Review, no.10, (Spring 1988), pp.15-16. 4 W. Forbes-Leith, The Scots Men-at-Arms and Life Guards in France, 1458-1830 (2 vols., Edinburgh, 1882); E.A. Bonner, ‘Scots in France and French in Scotland’ in G.G. Simpson, ed., The Scottish Soldier Abroad, 1247-1967 (Edinburgh, 1992). 5 M. Avenel, ed., Lettres, Instructions Diplomatiques et Papiers D’Etat du Cardinal Richelieu (Paris, 1867), VI, pp.211-213. Cardinal Richelieu to M. de Bellièvre, 6 October 1638 and ibid., pp.238-240, same to same, 13 November 1638: M. Glozier, ‘Scots in the French and Dutch Armies during the Thirty Years’ War’ in S. Murdoch, ed., Scotland and the Thirty Years’ War, 1618-1648 (Leiden, 2001), pp.117-141.

Scotland and Europe, Scotland in Europe

6

45

J.H. Burton, The Scot Abroad (Edinburgh, 1864), pp.190-198; W. Forbes Leith, et al., eds., Records of the Scots Colleges at Douai, Rome, Madrid, Valladolid and Ratisbon (2 vols., Aberdeen, 1906); W. Forbes Leith, ed., Memoirs of Scottish Catholics during the XVIIth and XVIIIth Centuries (2.vols., London, 1909); J. Watts, Scalan: The Forbidden College, 1716-1799 (East Linton, 1999). 7 For more on Scottish colleges see A. Mirot, Souvenirs du Collège des Ecossais (Paris, 1962); J.L. Carr, Le Collège des Ecossais à Paris, 1662-1962 (Paris, 1962); J.F. McMullin, ‘The Innes Brothers and the Scots College, Paris’, in E. Cruikshanks and E. Corp, eds., The Stuart Court in Exile and the Jacobites (London, 1995); B. Halloran, The Scots College Paris 1603-1792 (Edinburgh, 1997). 8 For the issue of conversion as a part of integration into host societies, see Murdoch, Network North, pp.88-93. 9 John Lauder’s ‘Journal’ quoted in J. Lough, ed., France Observed in the Seventeenth Century by British Travellers (Stocksfield, 1985), p.293; For the later conversion to Catholicism of Mr Innes, see H[istorical] M[anuscripts] C[ommission], Calendar of the Stuart Papers (7 vols., London, 1902-1923), V, p.143. James Moir and others to the Duke of Mar, 16 October 1717, Bordeaux. 10 B. Kay and C. Maclean, Knee Deep in Claret: A Celebration of Wine and Scotland (Edinburgh, 1985), pp.12-45 and passim; L. Cullen, The Brandy Trade under the Ancien Régime: Regional Specialisation in the Charente (Cambridge, 1998). 11 M.P. Rooseboom, The Scottish Staple in the Netherlands (The Hague, 1910); V. Enthoven, ‘The last straw: Trade contacts along the North Sea Coast: the Scottish staple at Veere’ in Juliette Roding and Lex Heerma van Voss, eds., The North Sea and Culture, 1550-1800 (Verloren, 1996), pp.209-221; Catterall, Community Without Borders, pp.173-177. 12 Enthoven, ‘The last straw’, pp.209 and 219. 13 Records of the Convention of the Royal Burghs of Scotland (4.vols., Edinburgh, 18661880), II, p.146, 7 July 1602. 14 ARTICLES CONCLVDED AT PARIS the xxiiij. of Februarie 1605. stylo Angliæ: By Commissioners of the High and Mightie, James by the grace of God King of Great Britaine, France and Ireland, Defender of the Faith, &c. And Henry the Fourth most Christian French King, and King of Navar, for the more commodious intercourse in Traffique between their subjects (London, 1606), articles 8 - 11. 15 Danish Rigsarkiv [hereafter DRA], TKUA, England, A II 17, ‘John Paul 1676-1679’; DRA, TKUA, England, A II. Patrick Leyel 1683-1698 (Elsinore). 16 See Bergen Statsarkiv, Sollied Archive, ‘Forbus, William’, letters of 9 and 27 February 1716 (Bergen). It is not clear if this is the same William Forbes who authored Metholodical Treatise concerning Bills of Exchange (1718). 17 Register of the Great Seal of Scotland [herafter, RGSS], X, 11. No. 20. Broun (aka Browne) is noted as factor during the early period of the English occupation of Scotland in a ‘Grant of the Keepers of the Seal’, 23 August 1652; RGSS, XI, 297. No. 581, Charter, 24 March 1664 (McMath mentioned as being in Dieppe pre-1644). For more on Dieppe appointments see Records of the Convention of the Royal Burghs of Scotland, , I, pp.270, 273, II, pp.50,146.

46

The French Connection: Bordeaux’s ‘Scottish’ Networks in Context, c.1670-1720

18 National Archives of Scotland [hereafter NAS], GD18/2361, Account Book of John Clerk, Merchant in Paris, ff.58 and 73. ‘Robert Broun Merchant in Bordeaux his accompt currant’ for 1638 and 1639. Documents dated Paris, 11 March 1639 and 10 August 1639; NAS, GD18/2371. Letters (26) from James Broun, Robert Broun (his brother) and Thomas Foulis, in Bordeaux and St Sebastian, to John Clerk, Merchant in Paris. 19 For Colbert see M. Vergé-Franceschi, Colbert: la politique du bon sens (Paris, 2003); E. Levasseur, Histoire du Commerce de la France. Premièr Partie: Avant 1789 (Paris, 1911), pp.294, 360-361, 403. Colbert himself claimed Scottish ancestry and sent a secretary to Edinburgh to ascertain the origins and migration patterns of the Scots called both Colbert and Cuthbert in a bid to prove his noble origins. Thus it seems his belief in his Scottish origin was a family legend that he hoped he could prove rather than something of which he was certain. Nonetheless he ordered an inscription placed on his grandfather’s tomb: “En Ecosse j’eus de berceau, Et Rheins m’donne le tombeau”. See Vergé-Franceschi, Colbert, pp.414-416. For more on the importance of such fictive relationships, including other French examples, see Murdoch, Network North, chapter 1. 20 The French themselves often sought to clarify as to what the Scottish exemptions actually were. See for example NAS, GD18/2408. Letters from James du Cornet and John Lussignet in Bordeaux to John Clerk (Paris) requesting a copy of “the King’s edict wherein Scotsmen resident in France are free from all kind of takes”, 1641; The overturning of Scottish concessions in 1663 is noted in Kay and Maclean, Knee Deep in Claret, p.73; For the full impact of Colbert’s innovations on France see VergéFranceschi, Colbert, passim; Levasseur, Histoire du Commerce de la France, pp.353361, 403. Levasseur’s survey is most valuable for French policies regarding trade in general. In terms of Britain & Ireland, it is less useful as it erroneously subsumes the trade of the three kingdoms under the all-encompassing term Angleterre both before and after British Union of 1707. This is particularly frustrating given that the Irish trade in wine and brandy was probably the largest, the Scottish trade second and the English trade of least importance of the three until long after the Treaty of Union, while very different arrangements were in place for the trade between each country. 21 Register of the Privy Council of Scotland [hereafter RPCS], 3rd series, I, pp.433-34. Privy Council to Charles II, 30 September 1663, Edinburgh. 22 RPCS, 3rd series, I, p.488. Proclamation, 19 January 1664. 23 RPCS, 3rd series, II, pp.144-145. Declaration of War on France, 21 February 1666. 24 Kay and Maclean, Knee Deep in Claret, p.74. 25 For more on the exchange system see Forbes, Treatise; For the 18th century see Cullen, The Brandy Trade, pp.49-53. 26 T.C. Smout, ‘Journal of Henry Kalmeter’s Travels in Scotland, 1719-1720’ in Scottish Industrial History: A Miscellany (Edinburgh, 1978), p.15. ‘Diary’, 13 July 1719. 27 Levasseur, Histoire du Commerce de la France, pp.347-348. 28 Aberdeen University Library, Duff House (Montcoffer Papers), MS 3175, series A/bundle 2380. Sir Alexander Cumming of Culter, ‘The Mercator Scroles in relation to Trade, 18 August 1713. I thank Professor Macinnes for passing on the Duff House references to me.

Scotland and Europe, Scotland in Europe

47

29 Aberdeen University Library, Duff House (Montcoffer Papers), MS 3175, Z/bundle 156. Letter-book of Robert Gerard, merchant in Aberdeen, 1677-1701. Robert Gerard to R.A. (Bordeaux), 20 January 1701, Aberdeen. 30 Kay and Maclean, Knee Deep in Claret, p.195. 31 L. Taylor, ed., Aberdeen Shore Work Accounts, 1596-1670 (Aberdeen, 1972), pp.586587. For example Thomas Mitchell’s arrival with 30 tuns aboard Androw Millar in December 1669. 32 Kay and Maclean, Knee Deep in Claret, p.190. 33 NAS, RH15/106/163/5. Bill of Lading, 12 December 1673, Bordeaux. 34 A Dutch document dated 12 September 1659 endorsed ‘a discharge for money I [Russell] was owing in Holland whereof the ticket was lost’. In May 1660 he brought a sum of 436 guilders over from Scotland to Gilbert Alcorn in Rotterdam on behalf of the Laird of Polmaise. NAS, Russell Papers, RH 15/106. Indeed his brother John Russell had also been active in trade with the Netherlands regarding the importation of wine to Scotland between 1657-9, undoubtedly sourced in France. 35 NAS, Russell Papers, RH15/106, passim; T.C. Smout, Scottish Trade on the Eve of Union (Edinburgh, 1963), pp.112-114; Catterall, Community Without Borders, p.201. 36 NAS, Russell Papers, RH15/106, passim. 37 Smout, Scottish Trade on the Eve of Union, 1660-1707, pp.99-115; Murdoch, Network North, chapter 3. 38 Smout, Scottish Trade on the Eve of Union, p.111; Murdoch, Network North, chapter 3. 39 The designation of the company as Russell’s due only to the fact that the papers we have to study their activities are known as the Russell Papers. Patrick Thomson in Sweden was actually the eldest and equal senior partner. 40 NAS, RH15/106/174/4-6. Notarial Instrument, 10 March & 21 May 1674, Bordeaux; RH15/106/199/6-7. Notarial Instrument, 9 March 1675, Bordeaux. 41 L. Taylor, ed., Aberdeen Council Letters, 1552-1681 (6 vols., Aberdeen, 1941-1961), V, pp.191-194. Robert Patrie and Alexander Alexander to the Lord Provost and Baillies of Aberdeen, 31 August 1672, Edinburgh. 42 Taylor, Aberdeen Council Letters, V, p.291. Robert Patrie to the Lord Provost and Baillies of Aberdeen, 4 December 1673, Edinburgh. 43 The problem of avoiding privateers had been ongoing since 1672 due to the Scottish involvement in the third Anglo-Dutch War (1672-1674). When the British kingdoms pulled out of that war the problem was partially alleviated, though the fact that much Scottish shipping was not built in Scotland clearly continued to be a problem. For a brief analysis of the impact of the war on the French economy see Vergé-Franceschi, Colbert, pp.390 -450. 44 S. Murdoch, A. Little and A. Forte, ‘Scottish Privateering, Swedish Neutrality and Prize Law in the Third Anglo-Dutch War, 1672-1674’ in Forum Navale, Winter 2004, pp.37-65. 45 NAS, RH15/106/231. Messers Popple & Stewart to Andrew Russell (Rotterdam), 10 October 1676, Bordeaux. For more on the fact that the Scots possessed large ships at this period see Public Records Office [hereafter PRO], SP 84/188 (January-May 1672), f.166. Samuel Tucker to Bereira, 14 April 1672. Tucker notes that “the Scots ships stopt here

48

The French Connection: Bordeaux’s ‘Scottish’ Networks in Context, c.1670-1720

[Rotterdam] are more in number and better than the English, and are brave shipps most of two hundred tonn and upwards, and very able shipps.” 46 NAS, RH15/106/199. Thomas Smith to Andrew Russell (Rotterdam), 12, 16 & 20 November and 14 & 21 December 1675, Bordeaux. 47 NAS, RH15/106/199. John Caldom to James Gordon and Robert Caldom (Rotterdam), both 20/30 November 1675, Bordeaux. 48 NAS, RH15/106/231. Bills of Lading for Thomas Smith, 31 January and 8 February 1676, Bordeaux; NAS, RH15/106/231. Thomas Smith to Andrew Russell (Rotterdam), 4 February 1676, Bordeaux. 49 H. Roseveare, ed., Markets and Merchants of the Late Seventeenth Century: The Marescoe-David Letters, 1668-1680 (Oxford, 1987), pp.189, 192. 50 NAS, RH15/106/231. Bills of Exchange and Accounts, to Andrew Russell from Messers Popple & Stewart, 8 February 1676, Bordeaux. For the Dutch being an integral part of the exchange system in Scottish French trade see also Aberdeen University Library, Duff House (Montcoffer Papers), MS 3175, series A/bundle 2380. Sir Alexander Cumming of Culter, ‘The Mercator Scroles in relation to Trade, 18 August 1713. Cumming notes that the trade “ was generally payed by bills upon Holland & other places”. 51 NAS, RH15/106/231. Numerous documents, 1676; RH15/106/424. Numerous documents, 1677. For discussion of the English Embargo see Levasseur, Histoire du Commerce de la France, p.404; Roseveare, Markets and Merchants, p.189. 52 NAS, RH15/106/231. Messers Popple & Stewart to Andrew Russell (Rotterdam), 28 November 1676, Bordeaux. 53 Levasseur, Histoire du Commerce de la France, pp.400-421. English trade with France was frequently encumbered by taxes placed on French goods, ships and merchants. He details the main articles (some 15 of them) upon which trade to “Great Britain and Ireland” was based, though without consideration of the Scottish exemptions, stating erroneously that no nation received more favourable trading relations with France. 54 NAS, GD164/1120. Invoice of Cargo of Wine, 8 March 1677, Bordeaux. This ‘Johly’ does not crop up in the Russell papers, but his relative, Robert Jolly in Hamburg does, so the idea of Henry being on the periphery of the Russell network is not without some foundation. NAS, RH15/106/689. Mungo English to Andrew Russell (Rotterdam), 26 October 1689 and Robert Jolly to Andrew Russell, 10 December 1689, Hamburg. 55 NAS, RH15/106/387. Henry Lavie to Andrew Russell (Rotterdam), 11 June & 5 August 1680, Bordeaux. 56 NAS, RH15/106/387. Henry Lavie to Andrew Russell (Rotterdam), 11 June 1680, Bordeaux. 57 NAS, RH15/106/387. Henry Lavie to Andrew Russell (Rotterdam), 5 August 1680, Bordeaux; HMC Calendar of the Stuart papers belonging to His Majesty the King, preserved at Windsor Castle (7 volumes, London 1902-1923) [hereafter HMC, The Stuart Papers], VI, p.178. William Gordon to the Duke of Mar, 22 March 1718, Paris. This was due to the differing nature of the credit markets in the French cities, particularly Bordeaux, Lyon and Paris. I learned much from Guy Rowlands on this issue while discussing the present chapter with him.

Scotland and Europe, Scotland in Europe

49

58 NAS, RH15/106/387. Ralph Holland and Walter Rankin to Andrew Russell, 30 November 1680, Bordeaux. 59 NAS, RH15/106/387. Thomas Smith to Andrew Russell (Rotterdam), 9/19 October 1680, Bordeaux. 60 NAS, RH15/106/387. Messers Popple & Stewart to Andrew Russell (Rotterdam), undated and 4 August 1681, Bordeaux. 61 NAS, RH15/106/424. Messers Popple & Stewart to Andrew Russell (Rotterdam), 1 September 1681, Bordeaux. 62 The last skipper to write directly from Bordeaux to Russell is one James Robertson in 1683. It was around this time that Russell transferred his factoring business to a relative and he concentrated on running the joint-stock company. It is probable that other correspondence survives directed to the partnership regarding the Bordeaux trade, but not yet located by this author. For Robertson see NAS, RH15/106/494. James Robertson to Andrew Russell (Rotterdam), 15 October 1683, Bordeaux. 63 NAS, GD15/59/5. Mr Talloth [?] to John Charteris (Edinburgh), 13 July 1688, Bordeaux. 64 RPCS, 3rd series, XIII, 1686-1689, pp.555-556. Petition of Robert Campbell and William Wallace, c. 1689; T.C. Smout, ‘Scottish Commercial Factors in the Baltic at the end of the Seventeenth Century’ in Scottish Historical Review, XXXIX (1960), p.127. 65 NAS, GD220/693. Magdock factory accounts, James Campbell’s accounts, 12 November 1683. 66 NAS, RH15/59/7. Account of George Dundas (Bordeaux), 1689. 67 NAS, GD153/1025/2. Thomas Kirkpatrick to Messers Wallace & Scott, 30 May 1686, Bordeaux. 68 NAS, GD158/1018 – 1025. These letters are all to or from Hume under the names of Wallas, Wallace, de Vallace etc. 69 The most complete study of the refugee community can be found in G. Gardner, The Scottish Exile Community in the Netherlands, 1660-1690 (East Linton, 2004). For refugees in Hamburg see K. Zickermann: ‘Briteannia ist mein patria: Scotsmen and the British Community in Hamburg’ in Grosjean and Murdoch, Scottish Communities Abroad, pp.269-270. For religious refugees elsewhere on the continent, particularly Scandinavia and the Baltic see Murdoch, Network North, chapter 3. 70 NAS, GD158/1021. William Cunningham to M. de Vallace at Brodeaux, Bill for 80 Crowns and letter, 6 March 1685/6, Ayr; NAS, GD158/1023. Unsigned letter on “execution of laws against papists”, 1686. 71 NAS, GD158/1025. Thomas Kirkpatrick to Mr Wallace (Geneva), 29 April & 30 May 1686, Bordeaux. 72 E. Corp, et.al., A Court in Exile; The Stuarts in France, 1689-1718 (Cambridge, 2004). 73 See the section ‘A Jacobite Army at Lille’ in M. Glozier, Scottish Soldiers in France in the Reign of the Sun King (Leiden, 2004), pp.231-249; An excellent source book is B.P. Lenman and J.S. Gibson, eds., The Jacobite Threat - Rebellion and Conspiracy 16881759: England, Ireland, Scotland and France. A Source Book (Edinburgh, 1990); HMC, Stuart Papers, passim. For more on the French army in particular see G. Rowlands, The Dynastic State and the Army under Louis XIV: Royal Service and Private Interest, 16611701 (Cambridge, 2002).

50

The French Connection: Bordeaux’s ‘Scottish’ Networks in Context, c.1670-1720

74 Calendar of State Papers Domestic, 1700-1702 [hereafter CSPD], p.258. Rear Admiral Benbow to Secretary Vernon, 10 March 1701, HMS Vernon. 75 RPCS, 3rd series, XIV, 1689, pp.17-18. ‘Declaration of War against the King of France’, 6 August 1689; For more detailed analysis of the Nine Years’ War (1688-1697) from A French perspective, see Rowlands, The Dynastic State and the Army, pp.58-69 & passim. 76 RPCS, 3rd series, XV, 1690, pp.74-75. Letters of Marque etc., 20 January 1690. Captain Boswell or the Providence of Kirkcaldy was the first skipper to be granted them. See also Levasseur, Histoire du Commerce de la France, p.405. 77 RPCS, 3rd series, XV, 1690, p.125. Petition by Sir John Hall of Dunglass, 10 March 1690; Aberdeen University Library, Duff House (Montcoffer Papers), MS 3175, series A/bundle 2380. Sir Alexander Cumming of Culter, ‘The Mercator Scroles in relation to Trade, 18 August 1713. In this document it is stated clearly that “both before & at ye Revolution [1689] we had a free Trade with France”. 78 HMC, Stuart Papers, I, p.67. Six passes, 13 January 1692. 79 For the export of Norwegian deals of timber on Dutch ships CSPD, 1666-1667, pp.202, 219, 229, 384. Various passes for Davidson’s ships Elizabeth, Town of Leiden, Fortune, House of Nassau, Orange Tree and Prince of Orange, 16-26 October 1666. 80 For more on the conflict of interest between those Scots involved in commerce in the Dutch Republic during the 2nd and 3rd Anglo-Dutch wars see the articles by Ginny Gardner and Douglas Catterall in Grosjean and Murdoch, Scottish Communities Abroad. In the same volume, information relating to Scots fighting for and against the Dutch is given by Andrew Little. For a review of the enthusiasm for Scots to turn their merchantmen into privateers to take Dutch shipping, while also seeking to continue to trade between Gothenburg and Rotterdam see Murdoch, Network North, pp.226-227. 81 For the importance of smuggling see Levasseur, Histoire du Commerce de la France, p.405. 82 NAS, Russell Papers, RH15/106/772. Swedish Privy Council Pass, Stockholm, 13 January 1694. 83 DRA, TKUA, England, A II. Patrick Leyel 1683-1698. ‘Specification paa Svenske skibe 1 januarii til 1 decembris 1694’. For a full discussion of re-flagging see Murdoch, Network North, chapter 6. 84 For a thorough account of the treaty see H. Duchhardt, ed., Der Friede von Rijswijk (Mainz, 1998). 85 Quoted in Kay and Maclean, Knee Deep in Claret, p.81. 86 NAS, CS96/3309. John Watson, younger, Merchant of Edinburgh, Letter and Account book, 1696-1713. Various communications, direct and indirect, to Mercier & Galt (Bordeaux). 87 NAS, CS96/3309. John Watson to Mercier & Galt (Bordeaux), 2 March 1700 and 30 March 1703, Edinburgh. 88 Bills to be payable to Foulis are mentioned in NAS, CS96/3309. John Watson to William Fraser (London), 18 March 1701, Edinburgh. Fraser is also mentioned in NAS, CS96/3309. John Watson to John Mercier (Bordeaux), 30 November and 18 December 1703. James Foulis served as Treasurer of the Royal Scottish Corporation in London in 1674 and Master of the Corporation in 1679. See J. Taylor, A Cup of Kindness: The

Scotland and Europe, Scotland in Europe

51

History of the Royal Scottish Corporation, A London Charity, 1603-2003 (East Linton, 2003), p.45. Founded in 1657 by 28 Scots to support indentured servants, the society gained 34 new members over the next eight years. After a moribund period, it then took on 154 new members between 1684-1692. That the London community was directly linked to the Russell network is evidenced by their correspondence to Russell. See NAS, Russell Papers, RH15/106/305. James Foulis to Andrew Russell (Rotterdam), 23 April 1678 and John Robertson to Andrew Russell (Rotterdam), 6 August 1678, London; RH15/106/387. William Jamieson to Andrew Russell (Rotterdam), 23 March and 9 April 1680, London. 89 NAS, CS96/3309. John Watson to William Fraser (London), 18 December1703, Edinburgh. 90 For the war from a variety of angles see D. Coombs, The Conduct of the Dutch: British Opinion and the Dutch Alliance during the War of the Spanish Succession (Hague, 1958); H. Kamen, The War of Succession in Spain (London, 1969); T.J. Schaeper, The French Council of Commerce, 1700-1715: A Study of Mercantilism after Colbert (Columbus, 1983). 91 CSPD, 1700-1702, p.46. Lord Jersey to the Attorney General, 27 May 1700. This was the ship Mary carrying hides and tallow from Belfast and unspecified cargo from Scotland, stopped by HMS Swift and brought into Dublin. 92 Levasseur, Histoire du Commerce de la France, p.363; Schaeper, The French Council of Commerce, pp.110-114. 93 CSPD, 1702-1703, p.457. Order for the declaration of war by the Chancellor and Privy Council of Scotland, 12 May 1702. 94 Most famously the Cameronians who distinguished themselves at Blenheim in 1704, but also other regiments under brigadier-generals Frederick Hamilton, James Ferguson as well as the Earl of Orkney. H.C.B. Rogers, The British Army of the Eighteenth Century (London, 1977), pp.100-101; P. Mileham, The Scottish Regiments, 1633-1996 (Staplehurst, 1996), pp.157-158. 95 CSPD, 1703-1704, p.339. Pass for Robert of Leith to sail from Bordeaux, August 1703. Scots also needed passes to return from France to Scotland if the were to travel via England due to Williamite ‘Act of Indemnity’. That Scots might do so despite the Act was something much discussed by the English authorities, See various cases, CSPD, 1703-1704, pp.93, 95-96. August 1703. 96 NAS, CS96/3074. Robert Gordon to James Gordon (Edinburgh), 17 December 1707, Bordeaux. For later correspondence see for example, RH15/32/21 & 84. Documents relating to the loading of the Caterin of Leith, Arthur Clephan (master), 27 February and 2 March 1723, Bordeaux. 97 Schaeper, The French Council of Commerce, p.113. 98 Acts of the Parliament of Scotland, XI, p.112. ‘Act allowing the importation of wines and other foreign liquors’, 1703. 99 For the English being allowed limited trade see Levasseur, Histoire du Commerce de la France, p.406; Schaeper, The French Council of Commerce, p.113. 100 Schaeper, The French Council of Commerce, pp.118-123. 101 NAS, CS96/3309. John Watson to John Mercier (Bordeaux), 30 November, 18 & 28 December 1703 & 25 January 1704, Edinburgh. The ship is variously Ann, Anne and

52

The French Connection: Bordeaux’s ‘Scottish’ Networks in Context, c.1670-1720

Anna, while the port is given as Tunnyiborg, Tunsberg, Tunsborg etc. It is most probably Tønsberg in Norway. 102 NAS, CS96/3309. John Watson to John Mercier (Bordeaux), 28 December 1703 & 25 January 1704, Edinburgh. 103 NAS, CS96/3309. John Watson to William Fraser (London), 25 January 1704, Edinburgh. 104 Schaeper, The French Council of Commerce, p.142, n.35. 105 HMC, Stuart Papers, IV, p.106. L. Charteris to the Duke of Mar, 6 March 1717, Bordeaux; W. Mackay, ed., The Letter-Book of Bailie John Steuart of Inverness, 17151752 (Edinburgh, 1915) [hereafter John Steuart’s Letter-Book], pp.411-412. John Steuart to Alexander Gordon & Co. (Bordeaux), 27 October 1737, Inverness. 106 For example, NAS, GD96/3074. Robert Gordon to James Gordon (Edinburgh), 17 December 1707, Bordeaux. 107 NAS, RH15/32/16. Commercial Agreement, 7 November 1713. That it is Gordon he is trading with is confirmed by subsequent documents in the same series that run through until 1723. 108 John Steuart’s Letter-Book, p.146. John Steuart to Robert Gordon (Bordeaux), 1 October 1715, Inverness. 109 John Steuart’s Letter-Book, p.190. John Steuart to Andrew Henderson (Edinburgh), 22 September 1722, Inverness; Ibid., p.294. John Steuart to Robert Gordon (Bordeaux), 26 October 1728, Inverness. 110 Schaeper, The French Council of Commerce, p.131. 111 HMC, Stuart Papers, passim. For his code-name see vol. IV, p.252. Marquis of Tullibardine to Duke of Mar, 18 May 1717, Toulouse. 112 HMC, Stuart Papers, I, p.137. Queen Mary to Archbishop of Bordeaux, 11 April 1699; T.J. Walsh, The Irish Continental College Movement: The Colleges at Bordeaux, Toulouse and Lille (Dublin, 1973). 113 HMC, Report on the Manuscripts of Lord Polwarth (5 vols., London, 1911-1961), I, pp.43-44. Lord Polwarth to Mr Stanhope, 3 August 1716, Paris. Notes the departure of the Duke of Berwick to Bordeaux. He remained in the town intermittently, sending news of military actions to Lord Stairs thereafter. See ibid., vol. II, p.138. Duke of Berwick to Lord Stairs, 26 April 1718: See also HMC, Stuart Papers, II, pp.130 and 342-343. Robert Gordon to John Paterson, 30 April 1716 and L. Innes to the Duke of Mar, 30 June 1716. Gordon notes Berwick would arrive in Bordeaux with his wife and family. 114 HMC, Stuart Papers, II, pp.174, 202, 409. George Hamilton to Duke of Mar, 20 May 1716, Alexander Young to Duke of Mar, 2 June 1716 and Robert Gordon to Duke of Mar, 7 September 1716, Bordeaux; HMC, Stuart Papers, III, pp.120, 370, 376. Robert Gordon to John Paterson, 22 October 1716, Major Patrick Fleming to the Duke of Mar, 29 December 1716, and Robert Gordon to the Duke of Mar, 31 December 1716, all Bordeaux. 115 HMC, Stuart Papers, III, p.370. Major Patrick Fleming to the Duke of Mar, 29 December 1716, Bordeaux. 116 HMC, Stuart Papers, III, pp.375, 469-470. Mr Brisbane to John Patterson, 31 December 1716, ‘The Scots College’. Also Robert Gordon to the Duke of Mar, 23 January 1717 and George Mackenzie to the Duke of Mar, 23 January 1717 – all

Scotland and Europe, Scotland in Europe

53

Bordeaux. See also vol., IV, p.528. J. Wilson [Hamilton] to the Duke of Mar, 22 August 1717, Paris noting the departure of the men from Bordeaux and arrival in the capital. 117 HMC, Stuart Papers, III, p.376. Robert Gordon to the Duke of Mar, 31 December 1716, Bordeaux. 118 HMC, Stuart Papers, II, p.440. Robert Arbuthnot to the Duke of Mar, 16 September 1716, Rouen. See also II, III, IV, V and VI, passim for more on Captain George. The ship is named in V, p.296. Captain George to L. Innes, 18 December 1717, Bordeaux. 119 HMC, Stuart Papers, III, pp.161, 200 and 425. J. Charteris to the Duke of Mar, 31 October, 19 November 1716 and 11 January 1717; Ibid., IV, pp.105-107. Same to same, 6 March 1717, Bordeaux. 120 HMC, Stuart Papers, III, pp.376, 397-398. Robert Gordon to the Duke of Mar, 31 December 1716 and 4 January 1717, Bordeaux, and V, pp.217-218. Colin Campbell to John Paterson, 19 November 1717, Bordeaux. 121 HMC, Stuart Papers, III, pp.445-446. Robert Gordon to the Duke of Mar, 14 January 1717, Bordeaux. 122 HMC, Stuart Papers, III, p.506. Duke of Mar to John Malcolm, 2 February 1717, Avignon. 123 HMC, Stuart Papers, III, p.45. Robert Gordon to the Duke of Mar, 8 October 1716, Bordeaux; HMC, Stuart Papers, V, passim, but for example, pp.40-41. Robert Gordon to Lord Tullibardine, September 1717, Bordeaux noting Mr Hutchison should learn to “temper his tongue”. 124 HMC, Stuart Papers, V, p.33. Lord Tullibardine to Robert Gordon, 8 September 1717, Bordeaux. For Scots wishing to return, such as Peter Smyth in Bordeaux, see ibid., p.71. Father Archangel Graeme to the Duke of Mar, 25 September 1717, Calais. 125 For instance ‘Mr Broun’ (Colin Campbell of Glendarule) arrived for a three-day visit in March 1717 and again in May-July to pick up cash, letters of credit (and a bi-lingual servant) as well as to ‘plot’. See HMC, Stuart Papers, IV, pp.105, 186, 279, 305, 425. Robert Gordon to the Duke of Mar, 6 March 1717, Bordeaux and Colin Campbell to the Duke of Mar, 10 April, 26 May, 1 June & 4 July 1717, Toulouse and Bordeaux. 126 HMC, Stuart Papers, V, p.18. Colin Campbell to the Duke of Mar, 6 September 1717, St Emillion. 127 HMC, Stuart Papers, VII, pp.473, 631. Robert Gordon to the Earl of Mar, [?] October and 13 December 1718, Bordeaux. One list is produced, un-attributed, in vol. VII, p.704 and dated simply 1718. From the names on it we can tell these are the BordeauxJacobites hosted by Gordon. 128 HMC, Stuart Papers, V, VI and VII, passim. 129 Many of the Irish exiles entered French military service, others became merchants, while John O’Byrne became proprietor of numerous Bordeaux vineyards. A. Bernheim, ‘Notes on Early Freemasonry in Bordeaux (1732-1769)’ in Ars Quatuor Coronatorum, vol. 101 (1989), pp.42-54; This lodge was eventually recognised by the Grand Lodge of England under the authority of Lord Blayney, Baron Blayney of Monaghan in a warrant dated 8 March 1766. 130 HMC, Stuart Papers, II, p.204. Duke of Mar to H. Straton, 19 July 1716; See also ibid., pp.218-219. R Arbuthbnot to John Paterson, 11 June 1716, Rouen & passim.

54

131

The French Connection: Bordeaux’s ‘Scottish’ Networks in Context, c.1670-1720

HMC, Stuart Papers, VI, pp.180, 370. Duke of Ormonde to the Duke of Mar, 3 March 1718, Rome & J. Erskine to same, 15/26 April 1718, Venice. 132 HMC, Stuart Papers, VII, p.631. Robert Gordon to the Duke of Mar, 13 December 1718, Bordeaux. 133 HMC, Stuart Papers, V, p.177. J. Menzies to the Duke of Mar, 24 October 1717. The un-named Bordeaux merchant was delayed and the snuff taken back for delivery later. 134 HMC, Stuart Papers, V, pp.193-194. Colin Campbell to the Duke of Mar, 12 November 1717, ‘near Bordeaux’. 135 NAS, GD377/399. Letter-book of James Wauchope (1717-1719). 4 letters to Messers Simpson and Sandilands, 12 September 1717 – 24 December 1719. 136 HMC, Stuart Papers, VII, p.704. Un-attributed list, 1718. From the names on it we can tell these are the Bordeaux-Jacobites hosted by Gordon. 137 Murdoch, Network North, chapter 2. 138 NAS, GD377/399. Letter-book of James Wauchope (1717-1719). 12 letters to Robert Gordon, 2 September 1717 – 5 August 1719, all Edinburgh. One dated 23 November (1718), mentions the Duke of Berwick, seeking his intervention in a ship arrested in Norway on a mission to take timber to Cadiz. All the others, particularly those sent during Bordeaux’s Scottish-Jacobite period, deal only with import, export and the quality of claret. 139 HMC, Stuart Papers, V, p.211. Robert Gordon to the Duke of Mar, 16 November 1717, Bordeaux. 140 HMC, Stuart Papers, V, p.340. Colin Campbell to the Duke of Mar, 28 December 1717, Bordeaux. 141 NAS, GD377/399. Letter-book of James Wauchope (1717-1719); NAS, GD248/568. Robert Gordon to William Syme & accounts, 18 April 1724, Bordeaux; John Steuart’s Letter Book, passim. 142 Kay and Maclean, Knee Deep in Claret, pp.173, 216. 143 Kay and Maclean, Knee Deep in Claret, p.171. 144 HMC, Stuart Papers, VII, p.219. Robert Gordon to the earl of Mar, 30 August 1718, Bordeaux; Also vols. V-VII, passim re the ship and crew of Captain George in relation to their West Indian voyage. 145 NAS, RH15/59/7, Account of Provisions for the use of the ship David bought at Bordeaux, 1713. 146 NAS, GD172/1797. Miscellaneous, 1647-1657. Bond by Gilbert Robertson re Christian Kynnimonth. 147 NAS, GD172/366. Assignation of Marion Davie, 16 November 1676. 148 John Steuart’s Letter-Book, p.294. John Steuart to Robert Gordon (Bordeaux), 26 October 1728, Inverness. 149 HMC, Stuart Papers, VI, pp.549-550. Colin Campbell to the Duke of Mar, 18 June 1718, near Bordeaux. 150 HMC, Stuart Papers, VI, p.633. Brigadier Campbell to the Duke of Mar, 14 December 1718, Bordeaux. 151 HMC, Stuart Papers, IV, p.106. L. Charteris to the Duke of Mar, 6 March 1717, Bordeaux.

Scotland and Europe, Scotland in Europe

55

152 HMC, Stuart Papers, IV, p.511. John Paterson to George MacKenzie, 12 August 1717, Urbino. 153 For a survey of marriage patterns in the Dutch Republic, see Glozier, ‘Scots in the French and Dutch Armies’, pp.131-137. Similarly for Sweden see Grosjean, An Unofficial Alliance, pp.138-159. For the importance of kin links in general see Murdoch, Network North, chapter 1. 154 Lord George Murray later wrote on the subject that “I remember once in your presence to have told your brother, that if he had let me understand the Carte de Pais eleven years ago, which I was quite ignorant off, it would have prevented my ruin, and perhaps that of several others. As I never had the least thought of a back game, Je pris mon parte en gallant homme … I thought it much more eligible to live in a country where I had no acquaintances, the language of which I know not a sillab, as in a country that had made the cats foot of us [France] … I could not brook living in a kingdom whose usage of us I thought barbarous” See HMC, Report on the Muniments and Other Family Papers belonging to the Right Honourable William Buller Fullerton Elphinstone, Lord Elphinstone (London, 1883), pp.220-222. Lord George Murray to James Keith, 10 March 1756.

THE SCOTTISH SCHOOL’S CONTRIBUTION TO THE DEVELOPMENT OF EUROPEAN PAINTING: EXCHANGES AND INTERACTIONS BETWEEN SCOTTISH AND EUROPEAN PAINTERS IN THE EIGHTEENTH CENTURY MARION AMBLARD, STENDHAL UNIVERSITY, GRENOBLE

The Scottish pictures are like children sent upstairs to bed when the grown-ups hold a dinner party because they might upset the adults’ conversation. But some of these ‘children’ can sustain a very intelligent conversation themselves – and in our own language too – far more so than some of their supposed elders and betters who seem to be guaranteed a seat at the dinner table no matter that they have not spoken an intelligible word to anybody in years.1

Professor Duncan Macmillan, author of the above quotation, implicitly denounces the Scottish critics and art historians who prefer the painting of other nations to that of Scotland, and calls for a reappraisal of judgements on Scottish painting. Macmillan implies that this reappraisal has to occur first in Scotland before the true worth of Scottish painting can be internationally recognised. In view of the revalorisation of national pictorial art, he wrote Scottish Art 14601990 (1990), in which he describes the history of the development of Scottish painting. Winner of the prestigious Saltire Prize as Scottish Book of the Year in 1990 for Scottish Art 1460-1990, Macmillan is also the author of many articles and monographs on Scottish artists. The first detailed study on Scottish painting was made by Robert Brydall in 1889; James Caw’s Scottish Painting Past and Present 1620-1908 (1908) was the second thorough analysis on this subject.2 Nowadays, their works are still references on Scottish art and, before David and Francina Irwin’s Scottish Painters at Home and Abroad was published in 1975, no other study on Scottish painting could be compared with the works of Brydall and Caw.3 Over the last thirty years, more works have been published, but they have not yet succeeded in allowing Scottish art to be appreciated as it

Scotland and Europe, Scotland in Europe

57

should. These efforts, along with the support of the National Galleries of Scotland, have somewhat contributed to the reappraisal of national pictorial art. Nevertheless, Macmillan’s appeal has reached only but a few. Many Scottish art critics and curators suffer from an inferiority complex apparent in their articles and in the exhibitions they choose to organise. For instance, the Royal Scottish Academy, which was closed for two years to be renovated, decided to celebrate its reopening in the summer of 2003 by organising a major retrospective of Monet’s works and not an exhibition on an eminent Scottish artist. Besides, the display of the paintings in the National Gallery of Scotland betrays this tendency since visitors cannot fail to notice that, in the largest rooms of the ground floor, only a few Scottish paintings are exhibited next to the works of the greatest European masters. Indeed, it is the basement of the gallery that is used to display the Scottish collection. The works of some of the first art historians contributed to the marginalisation of the Scottish school by downplaying or denying foreign influences.4 Because of commercial and cultural bonds between Scotland and Holland, Scottish painting has usually been compared with Dutch painting. Nevertheless, Scottish painters have not only been influenced by Dutch artists, but also inspired by French, Italian, and Spanish artists. The purpose of this paper is to show that Western European art schools and artistic traditions have contributed to the genesis of the Scottish school and, that as soon as it emerged, the latter rivalled the most renowned continental schools. We shall see that in the eighteenth century, most Scottish painters studied in Italy because there was no permanent academy of fine arts in their native country. Then we shall study the effects of the interactions between artists on Scottish and European paintings in the eighteenth century, taking as examples the works of the portraitist Allan Ramsay (1713-84) and of the history painter Gavin Hamilton (1723-97). Ramsay’s portraits will show to what extent Italian and French arts influenced Scottish painting without hampering the development of an original school of portrait painting. Concerning Hamilton, we shall notice that his paintings had a decisive impact on Western European history painters and sculptors between the 1750s and the beginning of the nineteenth century.

The artistic training of eighteenth-century Scottish painters in Italy Owing to an unfavourable political, economic and cultural context, pictorial art only began to develop in Scotland after 1745. Indeed the Reformation and the Union of the Crowns had deprived artists of their main patrons, the Catholic Church and the monarch. Patronage was further reduced when in 1707 the

58

The Scottish School’s Contribution to the Development of European Painting

Union of the Parliaments led to the departure of the Scottish aristocrats for London. Moreover, until 1798, there was no permanent art school intended for artists, when throughout the eighteenth century more and more drawing academies and academies of fine arts were opened on the European continent.5 Compared with continental Europe, the creation of such establishments occurred at a much later date in Great Britain: the Royal Academy was opened in 1768 whereas the “Académie Royale de peinture et de sculpture” had been created in Paris in 1648. However, the Royal Academy was not the first academy of fine arts in Britain. Before 1768, two establishments had been created in England: in London, Sir Godfrey Kneller (1646-1723) opened his own school in his studio in 1711; in 1720, Louis Chéron (1660-?) and John Vanderbank (1694-1739) founded the Saint Martin’s Lane Academy. In Scotland, three art schools had already been created and, even if two of them were short lived, they showed that these institutions were much needed in the kingdom. The Academy of Saint Luke, founded in Edinburgh in 1729, was based on the Roman academy of the same name. It was created by a few “Painters, and Lovers of Painting […] for the encouragement of these excellent arts of Painting, Scultpure, Architecture”.6 Some prominent Scottish artists and writers were among the twenty-eight founder members: the charter of the Academy of Saint Luke was signed by William Adam (1689-1748), architect and father of the celebrated Robert Adam (1728-92), Allan Ramsay father and son, the engraver Richard Cooper (1696-1764), James Norie father and son, who were the main Scottish decorative painters, and by the painters John Alexander (1686-1766), William Denune (1699-1744), and Roderick Chalmers (fl. 170930). This establishment closed down in 1731 and, twenty-two years later, the second Scottish fine art school was opened in Glasgow. The Foulis Academy was created in 1753 by publisher Robert Foulis who had planned to set up an art school since the end of the 1730s. In an industrial city such as Glasgow, very few shared Foulis’s interest in the fine arts but Foulis managed to secure the backing of three wealthy merchants. The academy’s funding being ensured by few patrons, it had to close down in 1775 after the death of one of the investors in 1770 and the death of Andrew Foulis in 1775, who had helped his brother Robert run the academy. The first permanent Scottish art school, called the Trustees’ Academy, was opened in Edinburgh in 1760. Nevertheless, until 1798 it did not aim at training artists but future textile industry workers.7 Therefore, throughout the eighteenth century, many Scottish painters left their native country to have a proper artistic training in Rome, then the main artistic centre in Europe. In this city, they could study at the prestigious “Accademia San Luca” and the “Académie de France”; they could also work as pupils in the studio of a famous painter. Thus James Byres (1734-1817) was trained by the neoclassical painter Anton Raphael Mengs (1728-79); Gavin

Scotland and Europe, Scotland in Europe

59

Hamilton was a pupil of Agostino Masucci (1691-1768), and Allan Ramsay worked with Solimena (1657-1747) and Imperiali (1679-1740). Not all the Scottish artists were able to study several years in Italy, as only a few could afford such a long stay. Sometimes they did not hesitate to part with their possessions to go to the continent: for instance, William Aikman (1682-1731) sold the family estate he had inherited. Most of them however had to rely on their patrons to pay for their training abroad. Thanks to the generosity of the Cathcart family, David Allan (1744-96) was able to stay ten years in Italy; in order to go to Rome, Alexander Runciman (1736-85) committed himself to complete, on his return, decorative paintings at Penicuick for his patron Sir James Clerk. Both their artistic training in Italy and their contact with continental artists had an immediate and long-lasting impact on Scottish painters. Indeed, the study of eighteenth-century Scottish artworks shows that from the 1750s, their paintings became more sophisticated and were no longer on the fringes of the artistic trends fashionable on the continent. A portrait such as Nic Ciarain, HenWife of Castle Grant by Richard Waitt (fl. 1707-1732), trained by a craftsman in Scotland, cannot be compared with the rococo portraits that Ramsay painted from the beginning of the 1750s.8 In fact Ramsay’s paintings remind one of the portraits by contemporary French painters working for Louis XV and his court. The works of the Scottish painters also show that thanks to their prolonged stay on the continent, they became sensitive to more diverse artistic influences than ever before.9

Allan Ramsay and the influence of Italian and French arts on Scottish portrait painting While most Scottish artists only went once to continental Europe, Allan Ramsay visited Italy four times. He stayed there from 1736 to 1738, from 1754 to 1757, from 1775 to 1777 and from 1782 to 1784, and died in Dover, upon his return to England in August 1784. Nevertheless, only his first two visits had a decisive impact on his art.10 A chronological study of his works shows that two periods stand out in his career, and each of them coincides with a visit to Italy. After his first stay, he painted baroque portraits and began to execute rococo paintings in 1754. Ramsay had worked in the studio of the Swedish portraitist Hans Hysing (1678-1753) in London and studied at the Saint Martin’s Lane Academy, then run by William Hogarth (1678-1753). However, before going to Italy in 1736, his training was limited. The contrast between the portraits painted before and after his first stay could not have been more striking and illustrates the extent of the artistic skills acquired during the two years he spent on the continent.

60

The Scottish School’s Contribution to the Development of European Painting

In Italy, Ramsay worked with two Italian baroque masters. In Rome, he was a pupil of Francesco Fernandi, also known as Imperiali, while in Naples he joined the studio of Francesco Solimena. Today, these two artists are no longer famous, but during their lifetimes they were considered to be among the greatest historical painters of their time.11 Shortly after his arrival in Rome in October 1736, Ramsay worked with Imperiali and studied at the same time in the “Académie de France”. During the summer of 1737, he left Rome in order to go to Naples where he trained under Solimena. Ramsay’s studies with Solimena proved very profitable since the range of colours he used broadened and became brighter than before. He also learnt to use the contrast of light and shade to highlight faces and draperies, which he painted with more folds than before. For instance, the aspect of the cloak worn by Samuel Torriano and by Allan Ramsay on his self-portrait of 1739 reminds one of the draperies of Borea Rapes Oreithyia and Allegory of Music and Poetry, painted by Solimena and his pupil Sebastiano Conca (1680-1746).12 As several art historians have pointed out, Ramsay sometimes took his inspiration from the works of Batoni (1708-87), a former pupil of Imperiali that Ramsay met in Rome. He was also influenced by some of the portraits that Solimena painted for the Neapolitan royal family and their court. The portraits of the Second Earl of Rockingham and George III as Prince of Wales remind one of Principe Tarsia Spinelli in Abiti da Cavaliere del Reale Ordine di San Gennaro, probably painted by Solimena when Ramsay was still his pupil.13 His first visit in Italy was also technically profitable since he began to execute at least one study before painting a portrait. Today, hundreds of his drawings are kept in the National Gallery of Scotland. Ramsay was a well-known and highly respected portraitist when he decided to return to Rome. When he came back to London in 1757, he stood out from his English contemporaries by executing paintings reminiscent of the works of the French portraitists working for Louis XV and his court. When comparing Ramsay’s portraits with the works of the eighteenth-century French portraitists, one cannot fail to notice that Ramsay’s style had more in common with French portraiture than with English portrait painting. Throughout the second half of the eighteenth century, most of the Scottish and French artists–with the exception of Nattier (1685-1766)– faithfully represented the appearance of their sitters. They also tried to capture the sitters’ character whereas English painters simply aimed at handing down to posterity an image which flattered the appearance and the personality of their patrons, as well as their rank. Thus the portraits painted by Ramsay from the mid-1750s onwards have often been compared with the works of some of his most illustrious French contemporaries. His paintings have been likened more particularly to those of Nattier’s as the art of the two portraitists presents obvious stylistic similarities.

Scotland and Europe, Scotland in Europe

61

If these two masters have been compared, it is above all because they used exactly the same range of colours. They combined mainly pink, blue, and pearl grey; moreover, on their portraits, sitters generally assumed a refined pose and their hands were elegantly arranged. During his lifetime, Jean-Marc Nattier was very popular and his works, especially the paintings commissioned by the French royal family, were famous thanks to the numerous engravings circulating in Western Europe. Ramsay had seen an engraving of Nattier’s portrait of the French Queen; he was also able to admire the works of the French painter which were in the collections of his patrons General Saint Clair and Francis Greville (aka Lord Brooke). The portrait of Greville’s wife, painted by Nattier in 1754, certainly inspired Ramsay when he executed the portrait of Lady Susan O’Brien in 1761: both sitters pose in an almost identical manner and Ramsay painted a background quite similar to that of Nattier’s portrait.14 Nonetheless, even though he was sometimes influenced by some of his portraits, Ramsay cannot be considered a follower of Jean-Marc Nattier. The Scottish portraitist recorded faithfully the appearance of his patrons whereas, to his female sitters’ satisfaction, the French artist often improved their looks: Pierre-Jean Mariette even acccused Nattier of having “raccommodé les laides”.15 At the end of the 1740s, Nattier’s style was no longer in keeping with the conventions of the French school of portrait painting; connoisseurs and patrons preferred the pastel portraits of Maurice Quentin de La Tour (1704-88) to the works of Nattier. La Tour was praised for his faithful rendering of the appearance of his sitters and also, according to a few art critics, for his ability to capture their personality. In Britain, La Tour was not a very well-known painter. Nevertheless, before returning to Italy, Ramsay had seen some of the pastellist’s works and expressed his admiration in Dialogue on Taste (1755), an essay written when he was still living in Great Britain. Ramsay was not the only Scottish painter who admired La Tour and who was influenced by his works, since it was also the case of Catherine Read (1723-79), who studied in Paris with the French master. La Tour’s influence is more particularly obvious on portraits in which Ramsay intimately represents his sitters. Thus the portrait of the Duchess of Leinster reminds one of La Tour’s portrait of his friend Father Huber painted in 1742.16 Just like the pastel, Ramsay’s painting is informal: the lady is reading and not posing. The clergyman and the duchess are so engrossed in their reading that they both seem unaware of the artist’s presence. During his rococo period, Ramsay wanted his paintings to be as naturalistic as possible; therefore he painted a few informal pictures, a type of portrait that had been popular among French portraitists since 1730. For instance, on a double portrait of 1765, Ramsay painted the two sisters Laura Keppel and Lady Huntingtower talking.17 Then when in 1758 he painted the portrait of his second wife,

62

The Scottish School’s Contribution to the Development of European Painting

Margaret Lindsay, he chose to represent her performing a household duty.18 This portrait, which is one of the most famous works of art ever painted by a Scottish artist, shows the main characteristics of Ramsay’s style from the year 1754. The range of colours and the sitter’s dress in this informal portrait remind one of the works of the French painters of the second half of the eighteenth century. In fact, this is probably the reason why it is sometimes on display next to the works of French rococo artists in the National Gallery of Scotland. Even if Ramsay’s portraits are reminiscent of La Tour’s works, his style was quite distinct from that of the French painter, as is shown by the comparison of their half-length portraits of Jean-Jacques Rousseau.19 On the portrait executed by Ramsay, Rousseau is wearing an Armenian costume whose brown gown is trimmed with fur and has a black fur hat on his shaven head. The colours, the sitter’s pose (who seems to be about to disappear in the dark background) as well as his strained face and sidelong glance, give Rousseau a sinister and frightening look. This representation of the thinker’s personality tallied perfectly with the description Hume gave of Rousseau. Indeed, when Ramsay was painting the portrait of the Swiss philosopher, Hume wrote: Surely Rousseau is one of the most singular of all human Beings, and one of the most unhappy. His extreme Sensibility of Temper is his Torment; as he is much more susceptible of Pain than Pleasure. His Aversion to Society is not Affectation as is commonly believed; when in it, he is very commonly amiable, but often very unhappy. And tho’ he be also unhappy in Solitude, he prefers that Species of suffering to the other.20

On the pastel executed by La Tour in 1753, Rousseau seems to have a very different character. The philosopher is not dressed in eccentric attire; his clothes are plain but elegant. He is wearing a beige jacket over a cardigan of the same colour and has a white lawn tie and a periwig. Rousseau’s face is serene and he is wearing a smile that can be seen on most of La Tour’s portraits. This painting was exhibited at the 1753 Salon and was highly criticised by Diderot, who thought that the portraitist had failed to capture Rousseau’s personality. According to Diderot: M. de La Tour, si vrai, si sublime d’ailleurs, n’a fait, du portrait de M. Rousseau, qu’une belle chose, au lieu d’un chef-d’œuvre qu’il en pouvait faire. J’y cherche le censeur des lettres, le Caton et le Brutus de notre âge ; je m’attendais à voir Épictète en habit négligé, en perruque ébouriffé, effrayant, par son air sévère, les littérateurs, les grands et les gens du monde ; et je n’y vois que l’auteur du Devin du village, bien habillé, bien peigné, bien poudré, et ridiculement assis sur une chaise de paille.21

In general, La Tour and most of his French contemporaries–with the exception of Perroneau (1715-83) and Chardin–only partially revealed the personality of

Scotland and Europe, Scotland in Europe

63

their sitters when it was not appropriate to their rank or, as was the case for Rousseau, when it could have harmed their reputation. In the second half of the eighteenth-century, the portraitists of the French school were more interested in the character of their sitters than their predecessors had been; yet Diderot thought that they were still too accommodating.22 Except for his official portraits of the British royal family, Ramsay and the Scottish portraitists praised the individuality of their sitters much more than their rank or their intellectual abilities.

Gavin Hamilton, father of neoclassical painting The interactions between painters proved profitable for all artists and not only for the Scottish painters. The influence of the latter and their contribution to the development of European pictorial art have not yet been the subject of an indepth study. Macmillan has already shown that Theodore Gericault (1791-1864) was inspired by the theories of the Scottish physiologist Charles Bell and by the art of Wilkie (1785-1841), whose studio the French painter visited when he was in London in 1821.23 However, the impact that the works of an artist such as David Roberts (1796-1864) had on Western European art has still not been assessed in detail, even though in his day Roberts was one of the main European Orientalists. In the eighteenth century, several Scottish painters were famous on the Europe continent, even if in their native country their talents were not appreciated. Thus Jacob More (1740-93) and Gavin Hamilton, landscape painter and history painter respectively, had to settle permanently in Italy for lack of patrons in Scotland. During his lifetime, Hamilton was at the heart of the cultural and artistic life in Rome, but nowadays, like most neoclassical history painters, he is a victim of Jacques Louis David’s popularity (1748-1825). Hamilton had various activities; he was famous for the excavations he conducted at Hadrian’s Villa, Ostia and Tor Colombaro. He was also a renowned agent and art dealer and on behalf of some his British patrons, he purchased nine paintings by Nicolas Poussin (15941665), the Madonna Ansidei by Raphael (1483-1520) and The Virgin of the Rocks by Michelangelo (1475-1564), two Renaissance masterpieces which are now on display at the National Gallery, London. If in Scotland Hamilton received very few commissions for his historical compositions, he was not short of patrons in Italy. Usually British aristocrats on the Grand Tour bought his paintings but the most important commission he ever received was from the Borghese family for whom he provided eight paintings for the “Stanza di Parigi e Elena”, in the Villa Borghese.24 With Mengs, Hamilton was the most famous history painter in Europe. As his countryman Aikman of Ross explained in a letter written in 1767:

64

The Scottish School’s Contribution to the Development of European Painting Hamilton is what the Italians call the Premiero, and we students call him the Principal, in the Academy of Painting at Rome all the students apply to him for Direction and instruction in their Studies.25

When studying in Rome, young artists did not fail to meet Hamilton. Among others, the Scots David Allan, Alexander Runciman and Henry Raeburn as well as American and Continental artists such as Benjamin West (1738-1820), Antonio Canova (1757-1802) and David frequented Hamilton’s studio. The latter did not merely guide artists in their studies; he helped launch Canova’s career by recommending the sculptor to several connoisseurs and collectors. This was the series of six paintings representing scenes taken from The Iliad, executed between 1758 and 1775, which contributed most to Hamilton’s fame. The series was divided between six different patrons, which meant that artists and connoisseurs could not see the complete work. However, the series existed as a whole thanks to engravings of Cunego (1725-1803). Nowadays, these paintings have an important place in the history of European pictorial art because they helped define neoclassicism and, following Hamilton’s example, many artists executed Homeric paintings. When he painted these works, Hamilton was influenced by the art of Roman and Greek antiquity, Raphael and by pictures of Baroque history painters who were the main sources of inspiration for the neoclassical painters. Thus in the first painting entitled Andromache Bewailing the Death of Hector, the frieze-like arrangement of the figures shows the influence of antique bas-relieves.26 For this work, it is possible that Hamilton based the composition on that of the Meleager Sarcophagus.27 As in most of his paintings, he was also influenced by Nicolas Poussin, one of the great masters of classicism. Indeed, several art historians have shown that Hamilton took his inspiration from Sacrament of Extreme Unction and The Death of Germanicus, two paintings in which Poussin represented deathbed scenes.28 In her article “Subjects from Homer’s Iliad in Neoclassical Art”, Dora Wiebenson underlined the fact that, before the second half of the eighteenth century, this type of subject did not really inspire artists: Of over three hundred illustrations of Iliad subjects … less than forty belong to the entire period 1470-1750, while there are well over two hundred in the years between 1750-1825; the small remainder belongs to the later years of the nineteenth century.29

Hamilton was the first neoclassical painter who represented several Homeric subjects and it was partly because of the success of his six paintings that The Iliad became an important source of inspiration for neoclassical painters and sculptors. In France, notably, Joseph-Marie Vien (1716-1809) painted Les Adieux d’Hector et d’Andromaque; as for his pupil David, he executed

Scotland and Europe, Scotland in Europe

65

paintings entitled La Douleur d’Andromaque and Les Funérailles de Patrocle.30 When he studied in Rome at the end of the 1770s, the latter had undoubtedly seen some of Hamilton’s paintings or Cunego’s subsequent engravings, as the two works mentioned above have too much in common with the paintings of the Scottish artist to be fortuitous. The central part of the Funérailles de Patrocle reminds one of Achilles Mourning the Death of Patroclus and Achilles Dragging the Body of Hector from his Chariot:31 Hector, Achilles and Patroclus seem to be taken from Hamilton’s pictures. David was not the sole artist who was influenced by the Scottish painter. Renowned neoclassical sculptors such as Canova, Sergel (1740-1814) and Thorvaldsen (1770-1844) drew their inspiration from Hamilton too. In addition to his Homeric paintings, The Death of Lucretia had a decisive impact on contemporary artists as it was the first painting to represent an oath scene.32 This became a recurrent subject in neoclassical pictorial art: Fuseli (1741-1825) painted The Oath of the Rütli; David represented oath scenes in his famous Serment des Horaces, Le Serment du Jeu de Paume and La Distribution des Aigles.33 Thus compared with the rest of Western Europe, painting took long to develop in Scotland. However, as soon as the Scottish school was formed, it ranked among the most well-known European schools. Taking Ramsay and Hamilton as examples, we have seen that throughout the eighteenth century the interactions between Scottish and European artists proved profitable for both. Nevertheless, it is true that it was more profitable for the Scottish painters because European art helped painting develop in Scotland and has influenced painters ever since the Scottish school was formed. Despite its late development, Scottish painting has, in turn, always significantly contributed to the vitality of European art.

Notes 1

Duncan Macmillan, “Delight of Poetic Vision”, The Scotsman (7 September 1994): 11. Robert Brydall, Art in Scotland. Its Origin and Progress (Edinburgh: William Blackwood and Sons, 1889). 3 Sir Walter Armstrong’s Scottish Painters (1888) and William Darling Mackay’s The Scottish School of Painting (1906) are also important works on Scottish art, but they are not as comprehensive as the studies by Brydall and Caw. Several books dealing with Scottish pictorial art were published between 1908 and 1975. Among others, John Tonge wrote The Arts in Scotland (1938), Stanley Cursiter is the author of Scottish Art to the Close of the Nineteenth Century (1949), and Scottish Art was written by Ian Finlay in 1945. Yet these books only describe briefly the history of the development of Scottish 2

66

The Scottish School’s Contribution to the Development of European Painting

art: at one hundred and thirty-four pages, Cursiter’s work is the largest of the three books quoted above. However, this does not compare to Caw’s comprehensive study at five hundred and three pages in length. 4 For instance, in his study on Scottish art, Brydall downplayed the influence of continental schools on Scottish painting when writing that “In England, almost to the present day, the influence is felt of Vandyke, Kneller, and other foreigners; but in Scotland there is little indication of foreign influence, except in some of the works of Jamesone, prior to the year 1630.” Brydall, Art in Scotland. Its Origin and Progress, 218. These drawing academies mainly aimed at training the future textile industry workers; the academies of fine art were intended for people who wanted to become artists. 6 Quoted in Brydall, Art in Scotland. Its Origin and Progress, 110. 7 The Trustees’ Academy was established by the Board of Trustees for Manufactures in Scotland and in an article published in the Edinburgh Evening Courant on 27 June 1760, announcing the opening of the Academy, it was specified that: 5

“The commissioners and Trustees for improving fisheries and manufactures in Scotland, do hereby advertise, that by an agreement with M. De la Cour painter, he has opened a school in this city for persons of both sexes that shall be presented to him by the trustees, whom he is to teach gratis, the ART of DRAWING for the use of manufactures, especially the drawing of PATTERNS for the LINEN and WOOLLEN MANUFACTURES.” Edinburgh Evening Courant, 27 June 1760. Richard Waitt, Nic Ciarain, Hen-Wife of Castle Grant, 1726, private collection. 9 Up to the eighteenth century, they had been mainly influenced by Dutch artists. 10 Ramsay no longer painted after injuring his right arm in 1773 and his last two visits were entirely devoted to excavations. 11 Solimena executed many paintings and frescoes in Neapolitan churches. Nowadays, some of his paintings are still in the churches of Santa Anna dei Lombardi, of Gesù Nuovo and of Gerolamini. 12 Allan Ramsay, Samuel Torriano, 1738, Mellerstain House, Borders. Allan Ramsay, Self-Portrait, c. 1737-9, National Portrait Gallery, London. Francesco Solimena, Borea Rapes Oreithyia, 1699, Galleria Spada, Rome. Sebastiano Conca, Allegory of Music and Poetry, Galleria Spada, Rome. 13 Allan Ramsay, Second Earl of Rockingham, 1740, King’s Weston House, Bristol. Allan Ramsay, George III as Prince of Wales, 1757-8, private collection, Scotland. Francesco Solimena, Ritratto del Principe Tarsia Spinelli in Abiti da Cavaliere del Reale Ordine di San Gennaro, Museo Nazionale di Capodimonte, Naples. Even if the date has not been precisely determined, Solimena probably painted this portrait or made studies for it in 1738. This Order was funded in 1738 by Charles III, King of Spain and Naples. Spinelli was one of the first aristocrats to be knighted and commissioned his portrait to 8

Scotland and Europe, Scotland in Europe

67

celebrate this occasion. Moreover the portrait of the Second Earl of Rockingham by Ramsay has too much in common with Solimena’s painting to be fortuitous. 14 Allan Ramsay, Susan O’Brien, 1761, private collection. Jean-Marc Nattier, Elizabeth Hamilton, Épouse de Lord Brooke, 1754, The Frick Collection, New York. 15 Quoted in Léandre Vaillat, La Société du XVIIIe Siècle et ses Peintres (Paris: Librairie Académique Perrin et Cie, librairie-éditeurs, 1912) 55. 16 Allan Ramsay, Emily, Duchess of Leinster, 1765, National Museums and Gallery of Merseyside, Walker Art Gallery, Liverpool. Maurice Quentin de La Tour, L’Abbé Huber, 1742, Musée Antoine Lécuyer, Saint Quentin. 17 Allan Ramsay, Hon. Laura Keppel and Charlotte, Lady Huntingtower, 1765, Private collection. 18 Allan Ramsay, Margaret Lindsay, The Artist’s Wife, c. 1755, National Gallery of Scotland, Edinburgh. 19 Allan Ramsay, Jean-Jacques Rousseau, 1766, National Gallery of Scotland, Edinburgh. Maurice Quentin de La Tour, Portrait de Jean-Jacques Rousseau, 1753, Musée d’Art et d’Histoire, Genève. 20 David Hume to John Home of Ninewells, 22 March 1766, Correspondance Complète de Jean-Jacques Rousseau, vol. 29 (Oxford: The Voltaire Foundation at the Taylor Institution Oxford, 1977), 51. 21 Denis Diderot, “Essai sur la Peinture”, in Œuvres Complètes de Diderot, vol. 10 (1876 ; reprint, Liechtenstein: Kraus reprint, 1966), 483. 22 For instance, Diderot critised Louis Michel Van Loo (1707-71) because he painted a portrait in which Diderot is “lorgnant, souriant, mignard avec l’air d’une vieille qui fait encore l’aimable. La position d’un secrétaire d’État et non d’un philosophe”. Quoted in Musée Antoine Lécuyer, Maurice Quentin de La Tour, « L’homme : son physique, son caractère », 2/2 : http://www.axonais.com/saintquentin/musee_lecuyer/caractere.html, accessed on 3 January 2005. 23 Duncan Macmillan, “Géricault et Charles Bell”, in Géricault, by Régis Michel (Paris: Documentation Française, 1996), 1: 449-65. 24 Nowadays five of these paintings are still in situ, the others are on display at the Museo di Roma. Gavin Hamilton was not the only Scottish painter who worked for the Borghese family: Jacob More painted a large picture for the « Stanza di Apollo e Dafne » and was in charge of the layout of the English garden he designed for the Borgheses. 25 Quoted in Julia Lloyd Williams, Gavin Hamilton, 1723-1798, Scottish Masters, no 18 (Edinburgh: The Trustees of the National Galleries of Scotland, 1994), 16. 26 Gavin Hamilton, Andromache Bewailing the Death of Hector, 1758-61, National Gallery of Scotland, Edinburgh. 27 Meleager Sarcophagus, c. 180 A.D., Musée du Louvre, Paris. 28 Nicolas Poussin, Sacrament of Extreme Unction, 1644, National Gallery of Scotland, Edinburgh. Nicolas Poussin, The Death of Germanicus, 1627, Institute of Art, Minneapolis.

68

The Scottish School’s Contribution to the Development of European Painting

Waterhouse and Irwin think that Hamilton organised the composition of his painting following that of the two works of Poussin. Ellis Waterhouse, “The British Contribution to the Neo-Classical Style in Painting”, The Proceedings of the British Academy, vol. 40 (1954): 70-71. David Irwin, “Gavin Hamilton: Archaelogist, Painter, and Dealer”, The Art Bulletin (June 1962): 93. 29 Dora Wiebenson, « Subjects from Homer’s Iliad in Neoclassical Art », The Art Bulletin, 1964, 23. 30 Joseph-Marie Vien, Les Adieux d’Hector et d’Andromaque, 1786, Musée du Louvre, Paris. Jacques-Louis David, La Douleur D’Andromaque, 1783, Musée du Louvre, Paris. Jacques-Louis David, Les Funérailles de Patrocle, 1779, National Gallery of Ireland, Dublin. 31 Gavin Hamilton, Achilles Mourning Patroclus, c. 1760, National Gallery of Scotland, Edinburgh. Domenico Cunego after Gavin Hamilton, Achilles Dragging the Body of Hector from his Chariot, 1764, private collection. 32 Domenico Cunego after Gavin Hamilton, The Death of Lucretia, 1768, National Gallery of Scotland, Edinburgh. 33 Henry Fuseli, The Oath of the Rütli, 1780, Kunsthaus, Zurich. Jacques-Louis David, Le Serment des Horaces, 1784, Musée du Louvre, Paris. Jacques-Louis David, Le Serment du Jeu de Paume (drawing), 1791, Musée National du Château de Versailles, Versailles. Jacques-Louis David, La Distribution des Aigles au Champ-de-Mars, le 5 Décembre 1805, 1810, Musée National du Château de Versailles, Versailles.

THE SHADOW OF OSSIAN IN UGO FOSCOLO’S AND VINCENZO MONTI’S WORKS PHILIPPE LAPLACE, UNIVERSITY OF FRANCHE-COMTÉ, BESANÇON

However, I come back to my project and I say that this is the country where Ossian lived. After having seen its climate, its soil, its position, I do not marvel at the fact that only he had the beautiful pictures of Nature that he had and that no-one will ever possess, he was also longer under the spell of druids, of whom I think I intend to tell you one day if I have the time.1

Among all the eighteenth-century European nations, the fascination that Italy held for Scotland and one of its most famous authors, James Macpherson, might appear as a surprise. Italy had after all its own prestigious literary canon, both classical and medieval, and these men of letters had given the literature of the Italian peninsula its international claim to fame: Virgil, Catullus, Dante, Boccaccio, Petrarch, among others, were indeed extensively read throughout Europe and had influenced European poetry and literature at large. Even though the geography of Scotland and of the Highlands was not unknown in Italy at the end of the eighteenth century thanks to the success of travel writing published in French or Italian, Scottish literature still remained to be discovered and read. Macpherson’s Ossian had certainly assumed ideological tenets which had indeed outdone the literary reputation of his “translation.” The Ossianic stamp and Macpherson's careful propagandist ploys had provided Scotland with a national icon and the Highlands had become a cultural synecdoche as these regions, a part of the Scottish nation, were for a long time promoted as the representation of Scotland.2 Highland symbols, mythology and traditions were borrowed or, to quote Barthes, “stolen,” in order to allow Scotland to develop national characteristics that set it apart from the rest of Great-Britain.3 This synecdoche was also perceptible in the rest Europe, but it was clearly not of the same ideological nature. While it was clearly based on sentiments of identity and had nationalist strains in Scotland, the imitation of Macpherson’s poetry allowed the pre-romantic continental authors to distance themselves from the classics and from their own poetical tradition.

70

The Shadow of Ossian in Ugo Foscolo’s and Vincenzo Monti’s Works

This paper will examine the influence of Macpherson's Ossian on two Italian authors writing at the end of the eighteenth and at the beginning of the nineteenth centuries, Ugo Foscolo, (1778-1827) and Vincenzo Monti, (17541828). We will more particularly consider Ugo Foscolo’s first novel Last Letters of Jacopo Ortis, (first published in 1798) and Monti’s poem “Il bardo della Selva Nera,” (1806). These writers started in Italy a fashion for Scotland that spread throughout Europe in the nineteenth century. To do so, Italian authors, and in particular Foscolo and Monti, used the cultural mediation provided by Melchior Cesarotti’s translation of Ossian.

Melchior Cesarotti (1730-1808) The realisation in Italy of the lyrical quality of Ossianic poetry is to be credited to the genius of its first Italian translator, the abbot Melchior Cesarotti. Cesarotti published his complete translation of Macpherson's Ossian in 1772. It long served as a paradigm, both for its lyrical qualities and also because of the intermediary role it provided, rendering accessible a culture and a mythology which had up until then been almost totally ignored. Cesarotti's feat was indeed to translate Macpherson while respecting the canons of Italian poetry, that is to say in hendecasyllabic verses. Cesarotti, as he himself confesses in his preface, had however taken the liberty of introducing some alterations to Macpherson's original text, namely stylistic liberties which the conservative nature of Italian prosody disapproved of.4 Cesarotti, who taught classics at the University of Padua and who was already famous for having brilliantly translated Homer, admitted to having a very sketchy knowledge of the English language before starting his translation and to having discovered Ossian by chance thanks to a young Englishman met in Venice.5 As there was no complete French translation of Ossian yet, and to his own admission, Cesarotti taught himself English as he proceeded with his work. Whatever his linguistic difficulties, Cesarotti's translation, praised in Italy for the evocative nature of conditions and regions considered as wild and barbarous, succeeded in promoting a fascination for the Highlands and established Ossian as a canonical work to be considered on equal terms with Homer's works. Cesarotti, claimed so in a letter he wrote in French to Macpherson to communicate his enthusiasm and admiration: Your Ossian really filled me with enthusiasm. Morven has become my Parnass and Lora my Hippocrene. I always dream about your Heroes. I converse with these admirable children of the Song. I walk with them from hillside to hillside and your rocks covered with leafy oaks and replete with mist, your stormy sky, your roaring torrents, your sterile deserts, your meadows only adorned with thistles, all this grand and dreary spectacle has to my eyes more charms than the Isle of Calypso and the Gardens of Alkinoos. […] Scotland has shown us a

Scotland and Europe, Scotland in Europe

71

Homer who neither dozes nor babbles, who is never uncouth nor slow, always grand, always simple, quick, precise, settled and varied.6

Controversies surrounding the authenticity of the Highland Bard had not yet taken the proportions they were to reach later. Cesarotti, however, was probably very much aware of this issue as, in the same letter, he rejects any discussion on the origin of the poems and insists on what is, according to him, its poetic nature. In line with Burke's concept of the Sublime and beautiful, he considers the rugged and wild Highland landscape as the true nature of the poetic soul. According to Cesarotti, Macpherson's Ossian is a sublime poet surpassing Latin and Greek classic literature, and it is because of these aspects that he needs to be translated and read.7 As he had guessed, these new descriptions and this new style, so different from the classical inspiration Italians were so familiar with, were to be warmly adopted by young writers, and in particular by the young poet and novelist Ugo Foscolo.

Ugo Foscolo (1778-1827) Macpherson provided Foscolo with the romantic aspect and the grand and sublime natural setting the Italian novelist needed in order to create the gloomy atmosphere necessary to Last Letters of Jacopo Ortis.8 The first incomplete version of this epistolary novel was published in 1798 in Bologna, before being first revised by the author in 1802 and then later in 1816. It is this last version, known as the Zürich edition, which is considered as the definitive version. The plot is definitely pre-romantic and invokes the sufferings of Goethe’s Young Werther and of the heroes of the Sturm und Drang movement. Lamartine compared the fate of Goethe’s and Foscolo’s heroes and indeed went as far as alluding to literary plagiarism as far as Foscolo’s novel was concerned.9 Foscolo's hero, young Jacopo Ortis, has taken refuge in a small village in the Euganean hills close to Padua during Napoleon's first Campaign of Italy (1796-97). There he meets Teresa, a young woman betrothed to another man, and they are both devoured by a love which they know to be impossible. However, at variance with Goethe's Werther, Jacopo is passionately committed to politics and revolted by the social and political situation of his country, and more particularly by Napoleon’s donation of Venice and the Venetian region to Austria. Foscolo thus juxtaposes the romance with his own contemporary political passion and introduces elements close to his heart. Indeed, in spite of the promises made by General Bonaparte to the Italian revolutionaries, among whom Foscolo himself could be counted, Venice is rampaged by the French troops before being exhanged for Belgium and the Netherlands by the treaty of Campoformio signed in October 1797. After having communicated his thoughts and sufferings to his best friend Lorenzo in letters, Jacopo prefers committing

72

The Shadow of Ossian in Ugo Foscolo’s and Vincenzo Monti’s Works

suicide rather than living with an impossible infatuation and witnessing the degradation of his native Venetia. Foscolo, faithul to the pre-romantic vein initiated by Macpherson, uses nature in order to illustrate Jacopo’s confusion of sentiments. His description of the Euganean hill recalls the wild Highlands, and Teresa undoubtedly takes on the mantle of Malvina when she plays the harp for Jacopo. The passion he feels for her can only, in order to be dramatic, be experienced in a setting devoid of the Italian sensual calm and tranquillity. Foscolo takes good care to clothe the hills in a sublime, ruthless and wild fashion. Thanks to the numerous hyperbole he uses, he equates the protagonist’s torment to the fury of the natural background. Ossian’s Scotland provides him with the imagery appropriate to the development of this passion. The winter following Bonaparte’s treason and the discovery of Teresa’s engagement becomes a nightmare for Jacopo: Earlier today I went for a wander through the countryside, with my cloak pulled up to my eyes, pondering the bleakness of the earth buried under the snow, without grass or leaves to remind me of its former richness. Nor could my eyes bear to look for long at the shoulders of the mountains, their summits bathed in a black cloud of frozen mist which hung there to augment the appearance of mourning in the cold and overcast air. And I seemed to see those snows melt and plunge down in torrents flooding the plain, dragging headlong with them plants, herds, and huts, and ending in one day the labours of so many years, and the hopes of so many families. From time to time a ray of sunlight made its way through and, although it was soon overcome by the fog, led me to believe that only thanks to that ray itself was the world not sunk in one deep perpetual night.

This letter continues with Jacopo heckling the sun in the manner of Fingal in Carthon: O Sun, everything changes here below! And the day will come when God will withdraw his countenance from you, and you too will be transformed. Then will the clouds no more woo your declining rays, nor will dawn, garlanded with celestial roses and circled by your rays, come in the east to announce that you are rising. Meanwhile, enjoy your course, which may well be a labour to you, as man's to him.10

The hypotext, Macpherson’s Ossian, provides Foscolo with an imagery devoid of the original ideological tenets but replete with the sublime elements he needed. Furthermore, Foscolo repeatedly introduces echoes from Macpherson’s description of the Highlands. However, as the Italian critics Martinelli and Farina have pointed out, Foscolo, in the first version of his novel published in 1798 and known as the ‘Bologna edition,’ went much further in his Ossianic allusions and directly quoted Cesarotti’s translation.11

Scotland and Europe, Scotland in Europe

73

It is interesting to note that all the passages where Foscolo quotes Ossian, or as he calls him the “Celtic Homer,” have been removed from the two subsequent versions edited by the author. Here one cannot see simply a rejection of Ossianic poetry, since the echoes are still present throughout the novel. Foscolo’s omissions, I believe, testify to his own ideological stance, from being Napoleon’s supporter to expressing anti-Napoleonic feelings. Napoleon’s love for Macpherson’s Ossian was and is well-known. For Foscolo, to deliberately quote the First Consul’s and then the Emperor’s favourite author was contradictory with a novel whose ambition was to be a violent indictment of: “[…] the Young Hero born of Italian stock, born where they speak our language. […] a base and cruel mind. […] Yes, base and cruel — those adjectives are not exaggerated.”12 Since Foscolo had to eliminate any explicit allusion to the Highlands of Scotland and to its Bard, he could only content himself with making poetical echoes in the subsequent versions of his novel. As pointed out by Farina,13 notable is the absence of the following excerpt from the revised editions: Though I was exhausted and nearly dying, my insatiable spirit however took me to the cloudy hills of Cromla and Mora, through the roaring whirl of the Alpine torrents and the faraway rumble of clouds. I even distinguished, o Lorenzo, through the thick clouds, the pale shadows of the warrior Bards loitering slowly and then dispersing with their misty spears. […] I could not refrain myself from uttering with all the energy I possessed the divine verses of the Celtic Homer: ‘She came from the way of the ocean, and slowly, lonely, moved over Lena. Her face was pale like the mist of Cromla; and dark were the tears of her cheek. She often raised her dim hand from her robe; her robe which was of the clouds of the desert: she raised her dim hand over Fingal, and turned away her silent eyes. — Why weeps the daughter of Starno, said Fingal, with a sigh? Why is thy face so pale, thou daughter of the clouds? — she departed on the wind of Lena; and left him in the midst of the night. […] I shall see you yet, though here ye should fall in Erin. Soon shall our cold, pale ghosts meet in a cloud, and fly over the hills of Cona.’14

Ossian, because of the company he kept, had to be banished from Foscolo's novel. The protagonist indeed often quotes from other canonical works to give voice to his emotions: Homer, Dante, Petrarch, other Italian authors and even Lawrence Sterne. However, contrary to Monti or to Goethe, Foscolo breaks off any dialogue with Ossian, Macpherson or Cesarotti. Thus, although Foscolo’s protagonist gives the list of the great authors who have shaped his life and his intellectual development, Jacopo takes very good care not to mention Ossian, as only Homer, Dante and Shakespeare are acknowledged as his masters in the 1802 and then in the 1816 Zürich editions.15 However, in the 1798 Bologna

74

The Shadow of Ossian in Ugo Foscolo’s and Vincenzo Monti’s Works

edition, it is Ossian rather than Shakespeare who is listed as one of the masters of literature: “Omero, Ossian e Dante, i tre maestri di tutti gli ingegni sovrumani, hanno investito la mia fantasia ed inflammato il mio cuore: […].”16 The ideological weight of Macpherson’s poems is therefore only notable because of its absence in the last versions of Letters of Jacopo Ortis. Foscolo chooses to introduce echoes from Ossian in order to foreground romantic associations to Nature and to the Sublime of natural phenomena. However, any explicit allusion to Scotland, Ossian or Macpherson would have prevented Foscolo’s original project, his novel might have then been read as a flawed political allegory or as a completely incoherent propagandist essay. Foscolo’s painstaking revisions of his novel were meant to erase this completely and, through the words of his autobiographical hero, he even wants to disavow the literary echoes one might identify in his novel: What is the use of making an imperfect copy of an inimitable picture, when its fame alone gives a better idea of it than the wretched copy does? And does it not seem to you that I am like those poets who translate Homer? Because you see me tiring myself out only in order to water down the feeling which inflames me and dissolve it in my feeble phraseology.17

Vincenzo Monti (1754-1828) While Foscolo's careful editing process attempted to conceal his debts to Ossian so as to avoid paying any homage to Bonaparte, Vincenzo Monti's long epic poem “Il bardo della Selva Nera” (“The Bard of the Black Forest,” 1806) provides us with the opposite attitude: instead of withdrawing the Ossianic sources, we find a plethora of allusions whose aim is undoubtedly to please the monarch. In spite of Monti's excellent reputation in Italy, the poet was a classicist and had translated Homer, his poem was, from the outset, derided by critics. Foscolo for instance derogatorily called it “rather puerile,” even though he confessed to liking the style.18 Monti, like Foscolo, was a politically committed poet. Contrary to Foscolo, his commitment swayed easily and Monti did not hesitate to change his political allegiances according to what was needed: he first started by being enthusiastic for the principles of the French Revolution before harshly denigrating it; in the same way, he displayed a fascination for Napoleon and then praised the Austrians when the Emperor was vanquished. Monti uses Macpeherson's title, plot and style to compose a political allegory to Napoleon's glory. The Emperor, impressed by Monti's poetical and propagandist skills, had already promoted him as “Historiographer of the Kingdom of Italy” and Monti, as a dutiful Poet Laureate, had hurried to satisfy his patron's vanity with this pastiche composed in 1806 and dedicated to “His

Scotland and Europe, Scotland in Europe

75

Royal and Imperial Majesty Napoleon, Great Emperor of the French and King of Italy.” Monti only published five cantos out of the twelve he intended to write, all parading different episodes of Napoleon's glory. Quite at variance with Foscolo, Monti carefully chose a title, a story and characters which could only remind the sovereign of his love for the Ossianic tales. The poet faced a difficult task: he had to echo Macpherson and to glorify the Emperor without losing the Italian touch and the reverential tone of the poem. But the Ossianic strings are evident, from the beginning to the end and the pastiche becomes too obvious, too heavy and soon sinks into parody, the reader having to become the inevitable accomplice of a literary deception based on another literary deception. Monti also had to respect another stylistic constraint: his poem had to be an historical poem. The poet succumbed to his own vanity and his willingness to please at all cost, keen to play the role he thought was his, as he had for instance already alluded to in his 1806 poem “La Spada di Federico II” (“Frederic II’s sword”), a poem dedicated to Napoleon’s Grande Armée where Monti introduces himself as Napoleon’s bard.19 The narrator in the “Bard of the Black Forest” is a Celtic bard who answers to the name of Ullino. From his shelter in the Black Forest, he and his daughter Malvina discover Napoleon’s feats. Beneath the names given by Monti to his heroes, it is easy to recognize the slightly italianized name Macpherson used for Fingal’s bard, Ullin, and the bard's daughter, Malvina, bears the same name as Oscar’s wife. The story of the poem, what Monti calls “a poetical machinery”20 is rather simple: the bard and his daughter, whose isolation recalls Ossian and Malvina’s, go into raptures over Napoleon’s military victories which they survey from the high ground where they hide whereas a wounded French soldier of Italian origin they have sheltered praise Napoleon’s qualities. The three characters tell each other Napoleon’s fame against a military and historical background during the Emperor’s German campaigns, that is to say from Ulm to Austerlitz. The battles are evoked with many descriptions and recall Macpherson’s lyrical flight of fancy. The sublimity of Nature is put forward to present the battle scenes and to praise the heroism of the French soldiers. The Celtic bard, his daughter and the wounded soldier therefore contribute to the magical character of the pastiche while displaying the reality of the battlefields and historical truth. Monti was also dealing with another intertextual frame, that of Cesarotti’s translation. It is from this translation more than with Macpherson’s original text that one can identify intertextual references. However, these intertextual references to Ossian are detrimental to the poem. It is not convincing enough as it fluctuates between an historical work devoid of imagination, a pastoral idyll with a bard, his daughter and a French soldier who, as one could have guessed, falls in love with Malvina, and a

76

The Shadow of Ossian in Ugo Foscolo’s and Vincenzo Monti’s Works

panegyric to Napoleon’s glory. Monti shares with Foscolo the belief in the importance of civilisation. Unlike Rousseau’s Noble Savage, Ullino is indeed equipped of all the prerogatives of civilisation and, as he himself confesses, is only bard by the name: Bard was my name, and this name comprises Everything that I am. Now you know for yourself That I am a friend of the good and strong, In the poor, but not cowardly solitude, Rich of heart, of peace, of satisfaction. Yet it is not because I am a bard That my life is deprived Of the mildness of civilisation, this poor reasoning Which pleased the ancients, since dear to my heart Are the civic virtues, and The sublime and divine art of poetry was taught to me Not only by the sun, the storm and the clouds The torrents, the moon And the shadows of my fathers riding the clouds, But also by the customs and the doctrines, The loves, the needs and the events Of man tied by the social fabric; For nature is beautiful when it is cultivated.21

Conclusion If the shadow of Ossian looms over these works, Scotland is however never mentioned in Foscolo's novel or in Monti's poem. None of them ever expressed any enthusiasm or wish to visit Scotland. On the literary level, the use of Ossian was clearly a reaction against the classical tradition which was pursued throughout the nineteenth century by Italian playwrights and poets.22 It is however paradoxical that Cesarotti, Foscolo and Monti, who were all three accomplished classicists, praised Ossian’s Homeric qualities while admitting that Ossian allowed them to distance themselves from the classics.23 On a political level for both Foscolo and Monti, Ossian was deprived of any of the symbols and tenets he was invested with in Scotland. The political issue regarding Macpherson’s Ossian in Italy was thus associated with Napoleon’s passion for the Highland bard. Ossian had lost his original ideological content to bear the embarrassing support of one of his most faithful advocates. This, however, soon disappeared after Napoleon’s demise and Ossian reassumed his literary status and left his mark as a major poetical achievement.

Scotland and Europe, Scotland in Europe

77

Notes 1

My translation. Luigi Angiolini, Lettere sopra l'Inghilterra e la Scozia (1790), ed. Michèle and Antonio Stäuble (Modena: Mucchi Editore, 1990), p. 207. 2 See Ph. Laplace, “L'institution du corpus imaginaire gaélique dans la littérature écossaise: de Macpherson à Scott; entre idéologie et synecdoque culturelle,” Etudes écossaises, n° 6, Winter 1999-2000, pp. 129-45. 3 Roland Barthes, “The Myth Today,” in A Barthes Reader, ed. Sunsan Sontag (London: Vintage, 1993), pp. 118-25. 4 M. Cesarotti, Opere dell' abate Melchior Cesarotti padovano, vol. 2 (Firenze: Molini, 1811), p. 1. 5 M. Cesarotti, Opere dell' abate Melchior Cesarotti padovano, vol. 2, p. 2. 6 My translation. M. Cesarotti, Opere dell' abate Melchior Cesarotti padovano, vol. 35 (Firenze: Molini, 1811), pp. 10-11. Partly quoted by Enrico Farina, “Aspetti dell' ossianismo ortisiano,” in Aspetti dell' opera e della fortuna di Melchiore Cesarotti, ed. Gennaro Barbarisi and Giulio Carnazzi, vol. 2, n° 51, 2002, p. 600. 7 M. Cesarotti, Opere dell' abate Melchior Cesarotti padovano, vol. 35, p. 14. 8 Ugo Foscolo, Last Letters of Jacopo Ortis and Of Tombs, Trans. by J. G. Nichols (London: Hesperus Press, 2002). Ugo Foscolo, Ultime Lettere di Jacopo Ortis, ed. Giovanni Gambarin. Edizione nazionale delle opere di Igo Foscolo, vol. iv (Firenze: Le Monnier, 1970). 9 Lamartine, Les Confidences (Paris: Hachette, 1897), Livre VIII, p. 189. 10 Ugo Foscolo, Last Letters of Jacopo Ortis and Of Tombs, p. 32 (19 January). “Andava dianzi perdendomi per le campagne, inferrajuolato sino agli occhi, considerando lo squallore della terra tutta sepolta sotto le nevi, senza erba nè fronda che mi attestasse le sue passate dovizie. Nè potevano gli occhi miei lungamente fissarsi su le spalle de' monti, il vertice de' quali era immerso in una negra nube di gelida nebbia che piombava ad accrescere il lutto dell' aere freddo ed ottenebrato. E mi parevami vedere quelle nevi disciogliersi e precipitare a torrenti che innondavano il piano, trascinandosi impetuosamente piante, armenti, capanne, e sterminando in un giorno le fatiche di tanti anni e le speranze di tante famiglie. Trapelava di quando in quando un raggio di Sole, il quale quantunque restasse poi soverchiato dalla caligine, lasciava pur divedere che sua mercè soltanto il mondo non era dominato da una perpetua notte profonda.” Ugo Foscolo, Ultime lettere di Jacopo Ortis, p. 328. 11 Enrico Farina, “Aspetti dell' ossianismo ortisiano,” in Aspetti dell' opera e della fortuna di Melchiore Cesarotti, ed. Gennaro Barbarisi and Giulio Carnazzi, vol. 2, n° 51, 2002, pp. 609-17. 12 Ugo Foscolo, Last Letters of Jacopo Ortis and Of Tombs, p. 35 (17 March). “(…) Giovine Eroe nato di sangue italiano; nato dove si parla il nostro idioma. Io da un animo basso e crudele, (…). Sì; basso e crudele — nè gli epiteti sono esagerati.” Ugo Foscolo, Ultime Lettere di Jacopo Ortis, pp. 333-34. 13 Enrico Farina, “Aspetti dell' ossianismo ortisiano,” in Aspetti dell' opera e della fortuna di Melchiore Cesarotti, ed. Gennaro Barbarisi and Giulio Carnazzi, vol. 2, n° 51, 2002, p. 611.

78

14

The Shadow of Ossian in Ugo Foscolo’s and Vincenzo Monti’s Works

My translation (first part). The quote is from: The Poems of Ossian and Related Works, ed. H. Gaskill (Edinburgh: Edinb. Uni. Press, 1996), “Fingal,” Bk iv, pp. 84-85 and Foscolo uses Cesarotti's translation: Cesarotti, Opere dell' abate Cesarotti padovano, vol. ii, p. 204; p. 207. “Benché spossato e languente, pure il mio spirito si trasportava con avido pensiero colà nei nebulosi monti di Cromla e di Mora, fra l'urlante possa degli alpini torrenti e il lontano rombo dei fosco-mugghianti nembi. Vedeva perfino, o Lorenzo, fra que' nugolini addensati, le pallide taciturne ombre de' guerrieri Bardi errar lentamente, e inabissarsi poi, e disperdersi colle loro lancie di nebbia. […] Non mi contenni dal pronunziar con tutta energia alcuni versi divini del celtico Omero: 'E sola e lenta si movea quell'Ombra, / Faccia avev'ella pallida qual nebbia, / Guancia fosca di lagrime: più volte / Trasse l'azzurra man fuor delle vesti, / Vesti ordite di nubi, e la distese / Accennando a Fingallo, e volse altrove / I taciturni sguardi. — E perché piangi, / Figlia di Starno? — domandò Fingallo / Con un sospiro: — a che pallida e muta, / Bell' ospite dei nembi? — Ella ad un tratto / Sparve col vento e lo lasciò pensoso.' E poi sommessamente lagrimando soggiungea: 'Ti rivederò: di cava nube in seno / Le nostre fredde e pallid' ombre in breve / S'incontreranno, o figli, e andrem volando, / Spirti indivisi a ragionar sul Cona!'“ Ugo Foscolo, Ultime lettere di Jacopo Ortis, p. 93, [Bologna edition]. 15 “Homer, Dante, and Shakespeare, three masters, three superhuman intellects, have taken over my mind and inflamed my heart. I have bathed their verses with warm tears, and I have adored their divine shades as if I saw them seated in the highest spheres of the universe, dominating eternity.” Ugo Foscolo, Last Letters of Jacopo Ortis and Of Tombs, p. 54 (13 May). 16 Ugo Foscolo, Ultime Lettere di Jacopo Ortis, p. 59 (14 May). 17 Ugo Foscolo, Last Letters of Jacopo Ortis and Of Tombs, p. 15 (20 november). “Che giova copiare imperfettamente un inimitabile quadro, la cui fama soltanto lascia più senso che la sua miseria copia? E non ti pare ch'io somigli i poeti traduttori d'Omero? Giacchè tu vedi ch'io non mi affatico, che per annacquare il sentimento che m'infiamma e stemprarlo in un languido fraseggiamento.” Ugo Foscolo, Ultime Lettere di Jacopo Ortis, p. 306. 18 Ugo Foscolo, Saggio sulla letteratura contemporanea in Italia, in Ugo Foscolo, Edizione nazionale delle opere, vol. xi (Firenze: Le Monnier, 1958), p. 533. See Enrico Farina, “Vincenzo Monti e il Bardo,” in Vincenzo Monti fra Roma e Milano, ed. Gennaro Barabarisi (Cesena: Società Editirice Il Ponte Vecchio, 2001), p. 206 (footnote). 19 “A voi dunque, valorosi Duci e Soldati del Grande Napoleone, io conscro a buon titolo questi versi dalla militare virtù vostra inspirati; e dai campi di Marengo e di Austerlitz, ove già vostro Bardo sto intrecciando corone / degli allori colà mietuti, io corro per diporto a raccogliervi qualche fronda di quelli di Jena finchè sono ancor cladi del sangue dell'inimico. Nè io terno che questo tributo d'ammirazione sia da voi rifiutato.” Vincenzo Monti, La spada di Federico II, Re di Prussia (Milano, 1806), pp. 4-5. 20 “Tanto vi dico, che il mio travaglio abbraccia tutte le imprese piú gloriose del grande Napoleone sí guerriere che politiche. Ho inventata una macchina poetica semplicissima, di sole tre rote, ma tale che può sostenere qualunque peso fosse anche triplo e sestuplo di quello che è. E già ho pronti cinque canti del mio poema, e senza presumer troppo vi accerto, che dacché scrivo versi non ho mai immaginato niente di meglio.”. Letter to

Scotland and Europe, Scotland in Europe

79

Ferdinando Marescalchi, 17 March 1806. Vincenzo Monti, Epistolario di Vincenzo Monti, ed. Alfonso Bertoldi, vol. 3, 1806-11 (Firenze: Le Monnier, 1929), p. 9. 21 My translation. “Mi nomai bardo; e in questo nome apersi / Tutto che sono. Per te stesso or sai / Ch' io son de' buoni e in un de' forti amico, / In solitaria povertà non vile, / Ricco di cor, di pace e di contento, / Né, perché bardo, argomentar che rozzo, / Qual già piacque a' miei prischi, e scevro in tutto / Da civile dolcezza il tenor sia / Di mia vita: ché care a me pur sono / La virtú cittadine, e precettori / Nella somma de' carmi arte divina / Non mi fur sole le tempeste e i nembi / I torrenti la luna e le pensose / Equitanti le nubi ombre de' padri, / Ma i costumi ben anco e le dottrine / E gli affetti e i bisogni e le vicende / Dell' uom cui nodo socïal costringe; / Ché culta ancora la natura è bella.” Vincenzo Monti, “Il bardo della Selva Nera,” in Poesie, ed. Alfonso Bertoldi (Firenze: Sansoni, 1967), p. 390. 22 Enrico Mattioda, “Ossian in Italy: From Cesarotti to the Theatre,” The Reception of Ossian in Europe, ed. H. Gaskill (London: Thoemmes, 2004), pp. 274-302, and: Francesca Broggi-Wüthrich, “From Smith's Antiquities to Leoni's Nuovi Canti: The Making of the Italian Ossianic Tradition Revisited,” in ibid., pp. 303-34. 23 Monti knew Cesarotti personally and had written to him to ask for advice regarding the outcome of his project.

COMING TO TERMS WITH “OUR CONTINENTAL COMRADES”: EUROPE AND THE CULTURAL IDENTITY OF THE EARLY SCOTTISH SOCIALIST MOVEMENT WILLIAM FINDLAY, FRANÇOIS RABELAIS UNIVERSITY, TOURS

Socialism was the vision of a new world order, but, what is sometimes overlooked, this had to be achieved by militants from the old world, by men and women who had been brought up in the image of the world they sought to change. The struggle for what Stanley Pierson called the “new consciousness” had therefore to be fought out against a cultural framework which was not new but had been shaped slowly over generations by the dominant tradition of social thought inside the country. The challenge therefore facing the socialists in the latter part of the nineteenth century was how to come to terms with this cultural baggage and how to relate it to socialism. It could be integrated into the revolutionary process as the foundations on which the new international world order would be built. The past would serve as a guide to future conduct as part of the learning curve. Nations would come together in one great “international”, each contributing in its own distinctive way to the shaping of the new and as yet imprecise post-revolutionary world. It could, on the other hand, be rejected completely or fragmented down to the level of individual human experience, in favour of “cosmopolitanism”, a literal belief in the oneness of the working class and the brotherhood of man, and a rejection of the artificial barriers which had been forged to distinguish nation from nation. It could even be a subtle mixture of both, a cosmopolitanism confined within racial or cultural boundaries beyond those of the nation or the state. What seems clear is that the relationship of the socialist movement to this cultural framework would play a significant role in forging its “identity” both inside the country and in the international arena even if most socialists did not have the time nor the inclination to explore the implications of this process in detail. In Scotland, as in other parts of Europe, socialist cultural identity had to be forged inside this context of strong popular traditions and powerful cultural

Scotland and Europe, Scotland in Europe

81

images of what the people stood for and how they were “perceived” by others, a double “definition” conditioned by “self” and the wider environment. The Scottish socialist movement was never a unique, homogeneous entity but rather composed of various and often conflicting strands and aspirations: Marxists, Anarchists, Ssyndicalists, Clarionists, moderates and so on. How real or imagined these differences actually were is open to debate, but it is clear that when seen from the distance of other European countries or indeed from the other side of the Atlantic, these conflicting tendencies became blurred and a more uniform projection was identifiable. This “typology” of Scottish socialism was emphatically “British”: the language and culture codes it expressed itself through were fundamentally English, even if the accent was unmistakably Scottish. Thus it spoke in the international arena and thus it was seen: “British” to its European allies, “British” but not “Continental”. Should this distancing of the Scottish socialist movement from assimilation with European models and its identification with British ones, particularly in the early days of the 1880s and 1890s surprise us? After all, when socialism sprang up at the end of the nineteenth century it traced its roots to British rather than European markers: the Levellers and the Diggers, the Chartists, Paine, Cobbett, Owen and so on. This is not to say that European revolutionary movements and struggles for independence had no place inside this identity - the French Revolution, in particular, was seen as a momentous moment for humanity and a great source of inspiration - but, as in France, Marxism was not an integral part of this tradition. Scotland’s socialists’ first contacts with the new movement therefore came almost entirely through English sources. John Maclean, for example, owed his “conversion” to socialism to reading Merrie England as did Willie Gallagher and James Maxton1. For Manny Shinwell the revelation came from Blatchford's Britain for the British2. Harry McShane broke from the Catholic Church after reading his Not Guilty : A Defence of the Bottom Dog3. Even Neil Maclean, the S.L.P's first national secretary, also recalled his debt to Blatchford’s work4. When Scottish socialists looked towards the construction of the new millennium, it was, on the whole, therefore, to a distinctly “British” not a European one that they aspired. The proposed new socialist “Commonwealth” was certainly ill-defined and vague but by reference to the nation’s own past, it was reassuringly not “alien”. It had therefore much to recommend itself to the working-class political culture of Scotland where the pillars of democracy, nationalism, republicanism and social justice were underscored by a value system which derived its strength from independence, temperance and religion5. As Ramsay MacDonald put it, With the formation of the Independent Labour Party, Socialism in Great Britain entered upon a new phase. Continental shibboleths and phrases were discarded.

82

Coming to Terms with “Our Continental Comrades” The Propaganda became British. The history which it used, the modes of thought which it adopted, the political methods which it pursued, the allies which it sought for, were all determined by British conditions6.

Hence it followed that as the movement grew and developed its organisation, it took a distinctly British form where little room was left for Scottish restructuring7. All of the main socialist organisations which sprang up during this period were therefore “national” i.e. British in shape and scope8: The Social Democratic Federation, the Independent Labour Party, the Clarion Movement and the Socialist Party of Great Britain. Quite clearly the Scottish militants seemed eager to participate in these joint ventures, forming Scottish branches rather than distinctly Scottish organisations. Why this should be so is perhaps obvious given the weight of Empire and the degree of integration of British industry, but in the wider perspective of the movement9 and with the benefit of hindsight there seems no reason why this was so self-evident. Only in Ireland, where the movement initially failed to gain a foothold, was it reborn under a national label. Even when discontent at the lack of revolutionary commitment pushed the “Unholy Scotch current” of the SDF into revolt and a break away, the new movement which they founded in Glasgow under American inspiration still saw itself as a British-wide movement10. Instead Scottish socialists seemed to throw themselves wholeheartedly into making a success of these national movements by giving them the benefit of a distinctly Scottish input. The “Scottish” character of British socialism seems therefore not to have been directed at organisational differences as at content and temper11. It emphasised seriousness over levity, high moral tone and fervour and as such was recognised by other militants. For the Scots militants, Roman Catholic as much as the Presbyterian majority, socialism was a profoundly religious experience. Where in France as in other European countries the socialist creed was seen as a rejection of the church and religion, the Scots liberally moulded their political behaviour patterns to these religious ones. Militants talked openly of their spiritual conversion to the movement. They saw themselves as men set apart12, “apostles” of the new “religion of socialism”13. Their work was no longer that of propaganda for they were men on a mission spreading the new socialist gospel from John O’Groats to Land’s End14. Indeed, according to Bruce Glasier, ... it is because of the religion of the conception that the ILP, with all its imperfections of men and methods, has attained to the position of being the great conquering socialist movement in Britain15.

Keir Hardie, himself a lay preacher16, not infrequently opened his meetings with hymns and revivalist imagery:

Scotland and Europe, Scotland in Europe

83

I claim for Socialism that it is the embodiment of Christianity in our industrial system17.

Indeed, much of the appeal of his newspaper, The Labour Leader lay in the fact that it carried hymns on its front pages (particularly when news was scarce). One can imagine that to European socialists, the religiosity of the movement was one of its most unexpected and disquieting characteristics, and one which brought into question the very foundations which the European socialists were believed to share18. Nor was this mere “window dressing” for the masses. The spiritual dimension to Scottish socialism went to the very heart of the movement, even at times deforming the logic of political science to its superior authority. The SLP, for instance, developed an aura of moral fervour and strict adherence to principle which distinguished it from other political parties and identified it in the minds of the people with some hard-line Presbyterian sects for some or to the Roman Catholic Church for others. Numbers were as nothing to zeal and devotion to the cause, being part of the “elect”. Disobedience to party rules or “flirtation” with the “impure” (and here they were not talking about conservatives or liberals but other “socialist” parties) could result in a public reprimand followed by repentance or exclusion from the movement. Neil Maclean, National Secretary of the party, no less, was publicly expelled for “treachery” and “perversion” after he had taken part in a demonstration along side the Edinburgh Right to Work Committee. For Max Beer who was studying British socialism at this time, there was little doubt that, The code of ethics laid down by the Jesuit fathers has been transferred to the offices of the S. L. P. There are no opponents, but always enemies and traitors. A socialist who does not belong to the S. L. P. is ipso facto not a socialist, nor is he a bourgeois but something worse, a fakir, a traitor, crush him19.

Walter Kendall, a later historian, saw this as a forerunner of things to come. This Calvinistic belief of the S. L. P. that it alone was the party of the elect and that all beyond its ranks were bound for eternal political damnation, restricted the party's growth to within very narrow limits. Yet it gave to those that remained an astonishing moral force and fervour. Alone of all the forces of British socialism, the S. L. P. carried within itself both the glorious messianic vision and the degrading capacity for heresy hunts which later so distinguished the Communist Party of Great Britain20.

Be that as it may, there is no disputing the fact that from an early age Scottish socialism had taken on a distinctive personality inside the wider

84

Coming to Terms with “Our Continental Comrades”

British movement precisely because of this religious dimension. As one local socialist militant of this early period, David Lowe, noted, The Scottish Labour Movement was not founded on materialism... Their heroes were Jesus, Shelley, Mazzini, Whitman, Ruskin, Carlyle, Morris. The economists took a secondary place. The crusade was to dethrone Mammon and to restore spirit, and to insist that the welfare of the community should take precedence of the enrichment of a handful21.

In this, many militants concurred. Debate in Scotland was on a higher plane than south of the border and attributed to the fervour of the religious background. The young Harry McShane was far from alone among Glasgow socialists having to constantly grapple with the hard-line Marxist paper The Socialist, I had a terrible struggle trying to understand the paper; it usually published two complete pages of print, with no by-lines, on the materialist conception of history or Marxist economics... at the time I actually liked the paper and did my best, although I found it very difficult22.

English militants were even more categorical. Frank Budgen, a young member of the SLP, was convinced that, It was not easy for an Englishman brought up in an Anglican village school to move easily among Marxist categories. The Scots with their Calvinist upbringing seemed to find the going easier…23.

A far cry in any case from a movement which in other European countries became synonymous with atheism and anti-clericalism and whose motto at the time was, “Ni Dieu, ni César, ni tribun”24. The character of Scottish socialism not only set it apart, but appeared as one of the most potent forces isolating it inside the International. Yet if the Scottish movement was profoundly spiritual it was also and at the same time quite hostile to theory, preferring to judge actions not intentions. Here too it not only marked its distance from other European movements but implicitly challenged the very foundations on which they were erected. In place of a veneration for abstract ideas there was a British attachment to and respect for the “practical”. John Maclean, arguably the most fascinated with intellectual ideas of the Scottish militants, recognised this trait of the British character and appealed like all the others to the “John Smith type”, a shrewd, hard-headed, practical man who had an innate sense of fair-play and made his mind up using common sense:

Scotland and Europe, Scotland in Europe

85

the revolutionary social democrats”, he claimed, “are in the end the only practical men, because the only real practical work for the people is the transformation of capitalism into socialism25.

When James Connolly set out to convince the working man to join the movement the title that he chose was “Socialism Made Easy”. Let us be practical. We want something pr-r-actical... Always the cry of humdrum mediocrity, afraid to face the stern necessity for uncompromising action. .. The average man dislikes to be thought unpractical, and (yet) ... Revolution is never practical - until the hour of the Revolution strikes. Then it alone is practical26.

Now it is one thing to be different and even proud of one’s differences, it is quite another to elevate these differences into a hierarchical value system for a movement whose aim was the unification of the workers of the world. Yet this is precisely what we find. Within the European movement this British indifference or hostility to theory gradually became a mark of division and conflict. British socialists were seen by their European counterparts (especially the French) as nice people but not very bright27, not really interested in the meaning of socialism28. As it became the source of ridicule and the butt of jokes from foreign militants, so British militants began to see it as a sign of national superiority, a trait which set the movement apart from and elevated above their Continental comrades. Keir Hardie certainly believed as much when in a letter to Engels, which was as much a statement of Britishness as a criticism of Continental theories, he explained, We (not the Scots but the British) are a solid people and very practical, and not given to chasing bubbles... We are not opposed to ideals and recognize to the full the need for them and their power of inspiring men, but we are more concerned with the realization of the ideal than in dreaming of it29.

Glasier, who attended the Amsterdam Congress of 1904, returned annoyed at the way the British had been treated and suggested to Hardie that it was perhaps time to show that, our ILP or British (should I not say our Scottish?) conception (is) above all German formulas30.

Theorising about socialism which, to many British militants, seemed to be the essence of the Continental movements was to be shunned at all costs for it could only result in a loss of contact with the working class and with the realities of life. For The Socialist it was the equivalent of “speaking a language foreign” to the average worker, a receipt for calamity31, summed up by Bruce Glasier’s

86

Coming to Terms with “Our Continental Comrades”

comments on one International Congress he attended: I was disappointed with the speaking and the size of the crowds. All the speakers with the exception of Bebel seemed to rant away at the phantom enemy ‘capitalisme’ and I less than ever felt drawn to the typical ‘continental’ socialist32.

Glasier, the Scot, even took offence that his “English tongue” was constantly outvoted by foreigners33, before suggesting that German socialists needed to be “a little bit more social and a little bit more democratic”34. As this feeling of being marginalised, irrelevant and “outsiders”35 took hold of the movement, a growing unwillingness to attend European meetings (more and more openly criticised for being dominated by the Germans36) spread and a gradual disdain for what was termed the “typical Continental socialist”37 crept into the writings of the British militants38. In turn this was reciprocated. Hence while the Americans sent a regular deputation to the Labour conferences in Britain from 1894 on, the French and Germans only agreed to attend in the last before the war, 1913. A dialogue of sorts, but essentially a dialogue of the deaf. Scottish socialism in the pre-World War One period must accept its share of responsibility for this situation although it is always intriguing to wonder what if. The fact remains however that the unique occasion which arose with the arrival of scientific socialism in the country did not result in a fundamental examination of the “national” question as happened elsewhere. Instead, but we can easily see why, the image cultivation by Scottish socialists tended to stress their Scottishness only within the relatively confined context of the British movement. Inside the country the militants had no qualms about stressing their unique contribution to the shaping of the British movement and even less about taking the lead in these same causes in a way out of all proportion to their statistical importance. It was the Scots who brought the backbone to the movement, or as some suggested less kindly, who transformed the Labour party the “hard-labour” party. But if they cultivated their differences and marked out their distinctive contribution to the national movement inside the country, it was a different image that was projected for non-British audiences. To the outside world these internal markers became blurred in favour of a show of national solidarity which seems deeply entrenched in the minds of the militants. Here the mind-set was above all British, a Britishness which not only set it apart inside the European movement but over time tended to see itself and be seen as oppositional and confrontational: a “them” and “us” mentality”. There are obviously very good reasons for this. Most British workers were relatively ignorant of, even instinctively suspicious of European affairs and the appeal of the English-speaking world was more attractive, more reassuring and more “real”. The common identity of language and culture and the intensity of

Scotland and Europe, Scotland in Europe

87

exchanges between these English-speaking countries lies at the core of their interaction39. Direct links with Europe were certainly infrequent, exceptional and usually took place during conferences which were limited to a handful of militants. Their usefulness also tended to be handicapped by a lack of command of foreign languages and cultural misgivings. In these circumstances, written contact played a far greater role but here too they tended to be dependent on the movement’s ability to translate these documents into English and their judgement of their socialist value. No overall picture of European movements therefore was available as each group focussed on the specific details which appealed to their particular brand of socialism40. European-born militants were of course present in Scotland and probably did influence the movement but this must surely have been marginal41. All in their own way contributed to the dynamism of the movement but were not its essence. In the period leading up to the First World War German and French socialists were faced with the fatal choice between country and the Brotherhood of European workers and could choose neither because they feared that either decision would wreck the movement. Scottish socialism never had to face this dilemma. Spontaneously and apparently without the slightest debate the term “British” was adopted by them to designate their movement in the world. Indeed, so spontaneously, so unquestioningly, did this adoption take place that, some observers and commentators have suggested, the “eschatological sentiment” and prophecy of the new Millennium which it contained was seen to fit too neatly into this national perception42: that the received truth of “Britishness”, inside which the realities of daily life, the mother country, its Empire and indeed the “English-speaking World” formed a paradigm which not only made sense but linked the destiny of the people to that of mankind. The Scots socialists, it might be said, were merely searching for their role inside this paradigm.

Notes 1 John Broom, John Maclean. Loanhead, MacDonald Publishers, 1973, p. 22 ; William Knox (ed)., Scottish Labour Leaders, 1918-1939. A Biographical Dictionary. Edinburgh, Mainstream Publishing, 1984, p. 114 ; Gordon Brown, Maxton, London, Collins/Fontana, 1986, p. 31. 2 Emmanuel Shinwell, Lead with the Left : My First 96 Years, London, Cassell, 1981, p. 35. 3 Harry McShane and Joan Smith, Harry McShane : No Mean Fighter, London, Pluto Press, 1978, p. 29. 4 W. Knox, op. cit., p. 192. 5 William Knox, The Political and Workplace Culture of the Scottish Working Class, 1832-1914. In W. Hamish Fraser and R. J. Morris (eds), People and Society in Scotland.

88

Coming to Terms with “Our Continental Comrades”

Volume II, 1830-1914. Edinburgh, John Donald, 1990, p. 152. 6 Bernard Barker (ed.), Ramsay MacDonald's Political Writings. Harmondsworth, Penguin, 1972, p.131. 7 A Scottish Labour Party was set up in Glasgow on 19th May 1888 which could arguably have constituted the foundations of a distinctly “Scottish” movement. It was however very far from being a working-class body as its two major components were from the Scottish trade union movement and the Highland Land League. It was however seen as a means of putting pressure on the Liberals in Scotland. According to K. O. Morgan, “The programme was largely a mirror image of ‘advanced radicalism’ as currently understood; there was little that was specifically socialist about it”. Nevertheless it could arguably have provided the basis of a new approach to socialist organisation along Scottish lines. It merged with the ILP in 1894. 8 David Howell suggests the fact that during the period there was a narrowing of political options, which squeezed and discredited other views, the legacies of the past, the need for political initiatives to have a British basis, an attitude reinforced by the trade union experience - the T.U.C. itself, trade union structures, national strikes and the reality of political power. There is the forging of a dominant strategy here which is similar to what is happening in Europe as well. Cf. David Howell, A Lost Left: Three Studies in Socialism and Nationalism. Manchester, Manchester University Press, 1986, p. 281. 9 When the Roman Catholic Church was re-established in Scotland in 1878, for instance, the Vatican opted for a distinctly Scottish hierarchy based on the pre-Reformation bishoprics rather than recognising the “new” British dimension of the country. 10 D. M. Chewter, The History of the Socialist Labour Party of Great Britain from 1902 to 1921 with Special Reference to the Development of its Ideas. B. Litt. Thesis, University of Oxford, 1965, p. 28ff. 11 Eric Hobsbawm suggests that by the end of the nineteenth century the “the Scots labour movement not only took a serious hold on its working class, but established a sort of hegemony over the English”. Cf. Eric Hobsbawm, Industry and Empire. The Pelican Economic History of Britain. Volume 3. From 1750 to the Present Day. Harmondsworth, Penguin, 1969, p. 308. 12 Stanley Pierson, Marxism and the Origins of British Socialism. The Struggle for a New Consciousness. Ithaca and London, Cornell University Press, 1973, p. 227. 13 Douglas J. Newton, British Labour, European Socialism And The Struggle For Peace, 1889-1914. Oxford, Clarendon Press, p. 19. 14 Labour Leader, 25th October 1902. 15 Labour Leader, 13th April 1901. 16 Robert Pope, Building Jerusalem. Nonconformity, Labour and the Social Question in Wales, 1906-1939. Cardiff, University of Wales Press, 1998, p. 9ff. K. O. Morgan, “Merthyr's Saint of Socialism”, The Western Mail, 24th September 1965. For Morgan, Hardy was able “to translate socialist ethics into the imagery of evangelical nonconformity”. 17 The British Weekly, 18th January 1894. 18 Cf. the on-going debate inside the French Left on this question in various left-wing papers such as L’Humanité and La Bataille Syndicaliste. “A propos du syndicalisme anglais - la réponse d'Anderson au camarade Jouhaux - quelques précisions sur le rôle de

Scotland and Europe, Scotland in Europe

89

l'église”. L’Humanité, 28th December 1913. 19 Justice, 19th January 1901. 20 Walter Kendall, The Revolutionary Movement in Britain 1900-21. The Origins of British Communism. London, Weidenfeld and Nicolson, 1969, p. 72. 21 David Lowe, Souvenirs of Scottish Labour. Glasgow, W. and R. Holmes, 1919, p. 125. 22 H. McShane and J. Smith, Op. Cit., p. 30. See also “The way we write” from ‘A Friend’ in The Syndicalist, n°7, August 1912 complaining about the obscurity of much of the jargon published in the paper. 23 Frank Spencer Curtis Budgen, Myselves when Young. London, Oxford University Press, 1970, p. 83; 24 Georges Haupt, l'Historien et le mouvement social. Paris, François Maspero, 1980, p.273. 25 “The Rise in Prices”, Forward, 28th January 1911. 26 James Connolly, Socialism Made Easy, 1909. 27 The British were believed to be immune from theory and apparently unable to comprehend it or its utility. Alphonse Merrheim’s deception on receiving a letter from his friend Tom Mann captured this popular perception: “Un peu vide comme d’habitude”. 28 It is true that other countries were also criticised in a similar way. The French syndicalists, for instance, were very critical of the Germans, their pretentiousness, their nationalism and their lack of revolutionary commitment. Cf. La Voix du Peuple, 24th December 1905, as well as 1st and 7th January 1906. 29 Hardie to Engels, 31st March 1889. 30 Glasier to Hardie, 9th September 1904. 31 The Socialist, May 1909. 32 John Bruce Glasier to his wife Katharine on 14th August 1904. 33 Georges Haupt (ed), Bureau socialiste international. Comptes rendus des réunions, manifestes et circulaires. Volume 1, 1900-1907. Paris, Mouton et Cie, 1969, p. 276-277 passim. 34 Labour Leader, 21st June 1907. 35 Looking back on the 1904 Amsterdam International Congress, Bruce Glasier commented that trade union delegates were made to feel “outsiders”. Cf. Labour Leader, 9th April 1914. 36 At the time most of the twenty-nine International trade-unions were run by Germans a situation which generated a great deal of suspicion in other countries. Cf. D. J. Newton, Op. Cit., p.87. 37 Labour Leader, 19th August 1904 and 31st October 1912; Cf. John Bruce Glasier to his wife Katharine on 14th August 1904. 38 Speaking at the formation of the ILP Ben Tillett expressed the popular sentiment that “he would sooner have the solid, progressive, matter of fact, fighting Trade Unionism of England than all the hare-brained chatterers and magpies of Continental revolutionists”. Cf. David Howell, British workers and the Independent labour Party, 1888-1906. Manchester, Manchester University Press, 1983, p. 293. 39 D. J. Newton, Op. Cit., p. 82ff.

90

Coming to Terms with “Our Continental Comrades”

40 In Scotland, for instance, French socialism and anarcho-syndicalism seem to have been particularly popular with Forward carrying adverts for Emile Pouget’s works. Gustave Hervé “le sans-patrie” was invited to speak in Glasgow by the Clarion Scouts in 1910 but the talk was cancelled at the last moment. 41 Léo Meillet, an exiled Communard and Andreas Scheu an Austrian socialist, exjournalist and atheist both seemed to have influenced the young James Connolly and contributed to the setting-up of the Edinburgh S.D.F. In certain areas of the country, particularly the coalfields of the central industrial belt, there were sizeable communities of European, particularly northern European immigrants. There was also a sizeable Jewish population, particularly in Glasgow with well-established international links. 42 Keir Hardie, like many others was enthusiastic about establishing a true brotherhood of man (or of the race) through a union or commonwealth of the English-speaking nations. Cf. Labour Leader, 17th February 1900 and Merthyr Pioneer, 23rd April 1914. Cf. also S. Pierson, Op. Cit., p. 226ff.

DUELLING CHANTERS: THE TRANSLATION OF POETRY FROM GALICIAN INTO SCOTS AND FROM SCOTS INTO GALICIAN INGRID MOSQUERA GENDE AND DAVID CLARK MITCHELL, UNIVERSITY OF A CORUÑA

In a recent recording, the Galician bagpiper Carlos Nuñez combined the sound of the high-pitched Galician pipes with that of Irish and Scottish bagpipes. For over a decade now, at the University of A Coruña there has been a sizeable amount of research undertaken into the links, influences and convergence between Galicia on the one hand and Scotland and Ireland on the other. As a more specific part of this wider cultural programme, numerous texts from the three countries have been translated into the languages of the others. Our intention in this paper is to refer to specific examples of translation from one minority language (Galician or Scots) to the other. The difficulties encountered and satisfaction acquired will be discussed using examples of poems by Edwin Muir and Celso Emilio Ferreiro through which we hope to demonstrate that the translation from one minority language to another is a vital, enriching and necessary part of a cultural heritage. It is universally agreed that the translation of poetry requires a unique degree of commitment and dexterity. Nothing is worse than a badly-translated poem, not even the most incomprehensible translation of a technical manual, of a legal document, of instructions, no bad translation is as bad as the bad translation of a piece of poetic writing. Why is this the case? Because, we might argue, poetry appeals not only to the intellect, to the rational comprehension of language, but to something which lies far deeper within the human psyche. Good poetry deals with something far greater than the literal meaning of words and the grouping of words into segments, clauses, phrases and sentences. From the first poets who offered their words as a gift to the Gods, the poet has been considered to be the

92

The Translation of Poetry from Galician into Scots and Scots into Galician

medium between the terrestrial and the spiritual, darkness and light, between the prosaic and the magical. In the translation of any writing, there is a general rule of thumb which requires the translator to possess a maximum amount of fluency in both target and source language. The equation vast linguistic knowledge of a source language + vast linguistic knowledge of the target language = perfect translation divided by the dexterity or lack of such by the translator is generally an unquestioned and predictable norm in the, however, highly unpredictable world of translation. This norm, however, has to be revised when dealing with the question of the translation of poetry. When this poetry is translated from one minority language into another, such problems are multiplied. Let us look at some examples, without leaving the relatively small world of Scottish poetry. Hugh MacDiarmid, the great Scottish nationalist, poet, theoretician, iconoclast and now icon for new generations of Scottish poets, was a maverick in his use of language. His early writing was in what he termed “synthetic Scots”. The term “synthetic” was used not to refer uniquely to something manufactured, although there was something of this in MacDiarmid’s language. For him, “synthetic” represented neither more nor less than a synthesis of the various dialects of Scots, plus some words which were said to have been Scots in their origins but had since disappeared from the language (and had been collected by an early nineteenth century cleric and scholar, the Reverend Jamieson in his quirkily eccentric Etymological Dictionary of the Scots Language). MacDiarmid deliberately used, therefore, words which were not familiar to him, but which he re-claimed as part of a real or imaginary linguistic heritage. His motivation was two-fold – firstly, it was a decision highly coherent with his political views – as a nationalist he was, as it were, recuperating cultural resources which, thanks to political causes (in this case the influence of England – marked by the Union, and the concurrent influence of the English language); and secondly, it was, to him aesthetically coherent with the aims of literary modernism, a movement to which he, typically in sporadic mode, adhered. By merging the familiar with the unknown, the poet created a literary labyrinth through which the reader must pass to reach a degree of understanding. MacDiarmid’s adhesion to Scots was fleeting – a genius of such restlessness was to explore new, glorious avenues too numerous and complex to be explored here today. The important point I’d like to make, however, is that MacDiarmid, the poet, the creator, was also MacDiarmid the translator. By working with a language which both was his but at the same time was not his,; that is, which

Scotland and Europe, Scotland in Europe

93

had, through a historical, political and cultural process been estranged from him, he highlighted the predicament of the Scottish writer. Scots has never had a set standard. Even as we write, the pros and cons of the need for a Standard Grammatical, Lexical, semantic and syntactic legislation for a standardised Scottish language is being debated in a permanent subcommittee in the brand-new Scottish Parliament building at Holyrood. Not all Scots are in agreement with the fixing of a standard. Galician has had a no less arduous path. The Galician language has been disparaged, rejected and even forbidden for important periods of its history but has, nonetheless, even in the darkest hours managed to survive thanks to the effort, in many cases clandestine, of its speakers. These circumstances have led to conflicting positions with regards to the form of Galician to be used. A decade or so ago, there have existed three fundamental postures: that of the “reintigrationists” (who look towards Portuguese), the “minimalist school” and the “official school . In schools and colleges, students learned one or the other version depending on the individual preferences of their teachers, creating a state of confusion for the next generations and which did not favour the stability of a language already wrought with difficulties. In 2003, representatives of all three tendencies met to reach an agreement about the future of the language which have since become the valid guidelines, approved on the 12 July 2003 by the Royal Galician Academy. These guidelines were reached alter intense debates between the three Galician universities, the Royal Galician Academy and other associations which had started in 2001, but even though the guidelines have been accepted, it is necessary to stress that there is still widespread disagreement with reference to both written and spoken Galician. Edwin Muir was a contemporary of MacDiarmid, and although they did not see eye-to-eye on many subjects, Muir would, in the few poems he wrote in Scots, use his fellow-poets concept of synthetic Scots. Muir was from Orkney, where some Scots was spoken, but many of the words, phrases and structures used in his production in Scots proceeded from “Synthetic” sources – from written, spoken or “discovered” Scots which Muir, like MacDiarmid, was to reclaim as his own. It is perhaps necessary at this point, and before going on to an analysis of the translations, to stress the main difference between the two minority languages we are using – Galician and Scots. Both languages have suffered from social and political repression, and both have been subject to a generalised loss of prestige. While Scots has tried to escape from this situation by a playful, and generally literary re-confirmation of its own internal incongruence, Galician has

94

The Translation of Poetry from Galician into Scots and Scots into Galician

attempted – with a notable degree of success, although again with a division of opinions, to recuperate its status as a majority language through a “normalisation” process mentioned above. The translator working with Galician has, therefore, a standardised code through which s/he can work; the translator working with Scots has the same solution as the poet, the use of a synthetic variety of the language. The translations of the work of Celso Emilio Ferreiro play with both a personal knowledge of Scots and synthetic features which we have used for aesthetic effect. The translation of Muir, on the other hand, works away from such syntheticism into the safer, but no less dangerous waters of translation via a linguistic code, a set of standards imposed by the Galician Linguistic Academy. The poem by Muir we have chosen is “Ballad of the Flood”, published in 1925, along with 23 more compositions in the book First Poems. Edwin Muir lived in the first half of the twentieth century. He was born in Deerness, Orkney and soon moved to Glasgow, where he suffered many setbacks. He would later travel extensively around Europe and the United States. The main problems when translating these specific poems are concerned with the following points: 1. Repetition – Edwin Muir uses a great deal of repetition, and we think that it is important to maintain this feature in the target text. At the same time, and due to this same reason, it is also fundamental not to repeat words that are different in Scots, although which in Galician could be translated using the same word, in order not to create repetition which is not present in the original. 2. Scots – The non-contemporary and “synthetic” nature of the language invariably causes problems for the translator, who is dependent on bibliographical sources with which to verify lexical significance. 3. Rhyme – Rhyme is not taken into account into this first draft of the translation, although we think that it is very important for the poem. This first step does not provide a rhythmical correspondence to the original, as can be seen. 4. This point is more a recommendation than a problem: it is very important to take into account the specific context of the poem and the author, a step which we have omitted due to the duration of the presentation. A first analysis of the original composition, taking into account the author, the rest of the compositions included in First Poems, etc, would be strictly necessary in order to achieve a good translation. We have not dealt with all those facts in this brief introduction, but of course they have been present in our proposal of translation.

Scotland and Europe, Scotland in Europe

95

BALLAD OF THE FLOOD (E. Muir, Collected Poems 1921-58 31-36). Balada da inundación Onte a noite soñei un soño horríbel, Antes do amañecer. Un verme sinuoso viña do oeste, As súas costas eran coma un abruñeiro . Abriu a boca moito como os mortos a abren Xirou tres veces sobre a súa cola, E sacudiu o mundo do redor Ate que cada rocha xemeu.

In the first verse the translation of the Scots term “slae” is difficult, in that it is a word which can be considered as particularly specific, since it refers to a type of tree. The second verse is complex, basically because of the syntax and the vowel change in the original Scots which complicates the work of the translator. A súa barriga era mais negra co carbón, Sacudiuse tan perto, Que rompeu os outeiros en pezass pequenas E pechouse o ceo. “Arrepentídevos, arrepentídevos, miña xente, arrepentídevos, Arrepentídevos e dade a volta. Os outeiros estanse a afundir no mar, O mundo está a sufrir”.

Here the complication lies in the need to maintain the musiclity present in the original. This is a problem throughout the poem, and the above lines provide a good example of this. AS we have mentioned, repetition is frequent in Moor’s work, and of great significance. In this fourth verse the repetition through the voice of Noah helps establish the intolerance of his character, which will later be seen in his attitude towards the people who drown around his Ark as he sails to safety. This means that it is of utmost necessity to preserve the repetition present in Muir’s original, as this enhances the musicality and delimits the characterisation of the main actor in the poem.

96

The Translation of Poetry from Galician into Scots and Scots into Galician Os valentes mozos espertaron xunto aos seus Somnolentos estaban os seus ollos: “Oh! Sei que este vai ser outro día Coma todos os outros.

Again here, the awakening of the “braw lads” must retain the musicality of the original. These lines are most important, and as such the translator must be precise, as these are words which will later be repeated. “E disfrutaremos hoxe, meu amor. Bailaremos ao ritmo do corno e a arpa, E inventarei outro xogo Cando saiamos pola mañá.

The music of these lines becomes explicit, underlining the inherent musicality of the ballad form with specific musical references. In this sense it is perhaps easier to translate to Galician than to Spanish, given that Galician is a language renowned for its musical qualities, with highly pronounced features of rhythm and intonation. In such a way, the rhythm of the original Scots is replaced by the intrinsic rhythm of Galician. Mais ao seguinte día nós os dous A través da porta da igrexa debemos pasar, Pois teño medo de que ardamos Vivos no fogo eterno.” Miraron ao seu redor en todos os muros Somnolentos estaban os seus ollos. O día espertaba polo leste Coma todos os outros. Mais Noé colleu un anaco de reboleiro, Outro de piñeiro, E construíu unha casa para a súa xente Para navegar sobre o mar.

These three verses are notable for their abrupt lines and their strongly occlusive phonetics which must be apparent in the Galician translation. By using short lines and respecting the punctuation we have tried to be as faithful as possible to the original. “Saíde, saide e chamade aos animais, Chamade dous de cada especie Para navegar sobre esta casca estaladiza

Scotland and Europe, Scotland in Europe

97

Cando todos os outeiros estean cegos. Ide chamalas, ide chamalas, e virán correndo rápido Tan pronto como escoiten a vosa voz, Pois escoitaron entre os outeiros, Eu seino, un ruido insistente.

Noah’s voice rises once again, with a series of repeated terms easily maintained in the translation as they represent colloquial spoken language, in which repetition is common. Here there is an extensive use of the imperative, especially in the second verse, where the use of the monosyllabic “ca” from the Scots must be translated by the more complex “ide chamalas” in Galician, which, and on account of the repetition, requires a restructuration of the lines in order not to lose the tone and musicality of the original. Berraron toda a noite ao redor da casa E eu nunca vira igual Tantas criaturas morren Pola inxustiza do home”. Os fillos de Noé sairon aos campos Chamaron dous de cada especie. Viñeron do leste, viñeron do oeste, E seguiron de cerca. E algúns eran mais brillantes que o sol, Algúns mais negros que o carbón. A laverca viña do ceo, A serpe do burato. E eran tan sumisos como almas bendecidas Absoltos dos seus pecados, Agachaban as cabezas en agradecemento Segundo ían entrando. “Vinde, vinde, miña xente, O mar tragou a chaira, Os outeiros están a caer na inundación, O sol marchou cara a baixo”.

The above verse is particularly complicated because of the tone used. The sentence is long, descriptive and resounding. The last three lines start with nominative syntagmas which are of great relevance and should be preserved in the same place at the beginning of the line in order to maintain the character of

98

The Translation of Poetry from Galician into Scots and Scots into Galician

the line, and the verbs used must stress their destructive nature: “drunk”, “are falling”, “has downward gane”. Moreover, the first verse conveys a marked religious character which must be translated with the precise language adequately adapted to the context. A chuvia choveu día e noite E o vento veu xunto dela. A auga subiu nunha longa líña recta Desde un outeiro ao outro.

The reiteration present in the first line of the verseis preserved in the translation, in an attemp to retain the intensity of the original: “The rain it rained baith day and night”, “A chuvia choveu día e noite”. This flood is intensified yet more in the third line, which starts with “the water”, a mominal syntagma which, once again, must remain in this initial position so that the flood can surge forth woth all its might. A Arca movíase coma a casca dun berberecho, Cara ao leste e logo ao oeste. “Agora Deus nos salve,” berrou o vello Noé, “O mundo fúndese de présa”. Os animais agachábanse entre as follas E berraban con moita forza, Saloucaron e xemiron toda a noite E loitaron todo o día, As criaturas da Arca estaban doridas, Asombradas polo son. Tremeron tanto que moveron a casa Como se sufrira un desmaio. Mais entón non houbo egua berrando No débil mar. “Eu sei”, dixo Noé, “o mundo está afundido Dende as chairas ate o alto dos outeiros”.

These verses are of particular interest for the precision of tone used for Noah’s authoritative pronouncements, firstly alluding to the process of the flood and its divine characteristics, and then heralding the complete deluge brought down upon the Earth.

Scotland and Europe, Scotland in Europe

99

O primeriro día que Noé navegou As verdes árbores pasaban frotando. O segundo día que Noé navegou Escoitou chorar unha muller. E mesas postas con carnes, Vasos de ouro postos con viño, E dous amantes nunha barca de seda Navegando na auga salgada. Nadaban polo solitario mar E tristes, tristes estaban os seus ollos, “Oh lévame no teu barco, vello home, E compracereivos, eu crin”. “Largo, largo”, berrou o vello Noé, Non veñades cara a min! Afoga, afoga, ramera falsa, Non quixeches escoitarme”. Ela retorceu as máns, beisou o seu mozo, E afundiu no mar. Mais Noé volveuse e riu en alto: “Ao inferno, eu sei, que ides! “Ao inferno vai todo o mundo hoxe, Menos a miña xente tan boa. Navega, navega ate Ararat Sobre a inundación”.

These lines provide the most vivid description in the ballad, and Noah’s expressions, the situation of the drowning lovers, and their weakness before the implied moral strength of the patriarch must be translated with all the details of Muir’s almost neo-Miltonic verse. Thus the speech of Noah is couched in the same, coldly formal, religious language Muir sought to criticise, while the drowning lovers plead with a delicate colloquial tongue, softened by the inherent melody of the Galician. O terceiro día que Noé navegou Non había ningún sinal. A auga estaba por todos os lados Como un grande muro levantado. Os asombrados barcos sobre o mar Preparábanse ao seu redor

100

The Translation of Poetry from Galician into Scots and Scots into Galician Ate que os dragóns das profundidades Chuparon as súas madeiras. Un a pos o outro, un a pos o outro, Afundiron no mar, E non ficou ninguén na terra Excepto a xente da Arca. Mais todos os días os dragóns viñan E xogaban ao redor da Arca. Púñanse sobre a escuma e cantaban; Era un bonito son.

Here the references to dreams and hallucinations once again explicitly suggest music, through the song of the dragons, and the sombre tone of destruction and silence must again be maintained in the translation. Although the repetition in “Tacked round and round about” is lost in Galician, we are able to maintain this effect with “Ane after ane, ane after ane,”, translated as “Un a pos o outro, un a pos o outro,”. “Por que ficades xunto a xanela, meus fillos? Que esperades ver?” “Queremos ver un bo fogar, padre, Posto nun campo verde. “Mais non vemos nada, só auga e auga, Vímola moitos días, E os peixes parvos na escuma Que nadan ao redor xogando”. “Navegade, navegade”, berraba Noé, “Navegade sen parar! Eu sei que navegaremos por todo o mundo Ate o día do Xuizo”. Noé mandou unha pomba sobre o mar, Volou cara ao sur. Ficou catro días e volveu de novo Cunha folla na súa boca. Noé mandou unha pomba sobre o mar, Foi levada cara ao oeste. Ficou lonxe, ficou moito tempo, E non volveu endexamais.

Scotland and Europe, Scotland in Europe

101

“Oh! que é ese outeiro verde no oeste Posto con tantas árbores?” “Eu sei que é o Monte Aratat Renacido do mar”. Virou a Arca cara a Ararat, Levouna por riba da escuma, Chegou a Ararat, E alí fixo o seu fogar.

The end of the poem presents few problems, given the amount of direct speech recorded in colloquial terms, although the continuous religious references, syntax and vocabulary must be treated with care. In conclusion, the most difficult task for the translator approaching this poem lies in the transmission and translation of the musical nature of the ballad and the search for certain specific lexical and syntactical approximations between Scots and Galician, two minority languages with, at first sight, relatively little in common. Celso Emilio Ferreiro was born in 1912 in the town of Celanova in the southern Galician province of Ourense, not far from the Portuguese border. Despite the fact that he came from a family with liberal Galician nationalist inclination, and despite the fact hat he had helped to found a left-wing nationalist youth grouping, the Federación de Mocedades Galeguistas (the Federation of Galician Nationalist Youth), Ferreiro was, like so many other young Galicians, enlisted into Franco’s army during the Spanish Civil War. In this conflict the armies were made up of recruits drawn from whichever part of the country they lived in at the time, and as Galicia was one of the first parts of Spain to fall to Franco’s rebels, many Galicians politically opposed to Francoism were obliged to serve in the army fighting for an ideology they abhorred. After the war, the poet studied Law, but his main interest was always in literature and the left-wing politics of underground Galician nationalism. The volume of poems Longa noite de pedra (Long Night of Stone) appeared in 1962, a crucial period in the re-growth of the Galician nationalist cause after the severe defeat and constant repression by the Franco regime. By the early 1960s Franco, pressurised by western powers and economic necessities, had started to lift some of the draconian measures which had been taken against dissenters. At the same time, the left and various nationalist groupings in Catalonia, the Basque Country and Galicia, had started to protest in a more open and direct form against the regime. Ferreiro’s book of poetry, therefore, found an audience

102

The Translation of Poetry from Galician into Scots and Scots into Galician

which was thirsty for a poetry of defiance and hope, a message which expressed their own frustration and rejection of the authoritarian ideology emanating from Madrid. The two poems we chose to translate into Scots represent, we believe, the stark simplicity and sonorous complexity of the better poems in the volume. Ferreiro’s critique of the regime was never direct, but his subtle blend of metaphor and insinuation clearly evokes the barren cultural and political wasteland his country had become under Franco. The translation of the poem which gives its name to the volume, “Longa noite de pedra” (“Long Night of Stone”) presented few difficulties. The Scots title, “Lang Nicht o Stane”, is a direct translation of the title which, we believe also captures the long vowel in the first word and the shortness of both the diphthong and the vowel “e” in the words “noite” y “pedra”. The long night of stone to which the poet refers is the years of Francoist repression, and the poem itself is as cold, dry and meaninglessly factual as Franco’s own blend of fascism. The repetition of the word “pedra” in lines 1 and 2, firstly in final position and secondly at the beginning of the line emphasise the apparent immobility and inflexibility of the regime: The ruif is makkit o stane Stane the was An the mirkness.

(All citations from the original work taken from: Ferreiro, Celso Emilio 1962 Longa noite de pedra. Barcelona: Col. El Bardo, 1967 and all citations from the translations taken from Clark, David M. “Poems from Galicia” in Edinburgh Review 106 (2001), 62-69). The use of a list of details of the “house” in the poem adds to the effect of lack of motion, a society which has been held back from its natural progression: Stane the flair An’ the stainchels. The duirs, The cheens, The smore, The winnocks, The glents Are makkit o stane.

Scotland and Europe, Scotland in Europe

103

Only in the second half of the poem do human beings intervene, and they are looking on from afar. Unfortunately, they too, or at least their hearts, have been turned into stone; the last vestiges of humanity have been apparently taken from them. The Galician verb used here, “espreitar”, means to observe without being seen, almost with the idea of to spy. For a Scots translation the combination “keekin’ slee” was used : The herts o the fowk Keekin’ slee fae yonder Forby Are mekkit o stane.

The poem ends on a note of - we hope – false pessimism. False, because although the poet believes himself to be dying within the long night of stone, the fact that he has been able to recognize the situation and communicate his perception through the poem gives rise to a degree of optimism: An’ me, ah’m deein’ I this lang icht o’ stane.

The first step to be taken to escape from the “long night of stone” is the recognition of the situation; the second step the communication of such recognition. Ferreiro’s poetry in the early 1960’s reached out to a generation hitherto with neither hopes nor dreams. Their identification with Celso Emilio’s poetic work helped to produce or strengthen a movement which would fight against the oppression of this “long night”. The second poem we chose to translate, “Tempo de Chorar” (Time for Crying), is a much more complex poem in terms of imagery and the use of poetic devices. Ferreiro makes extensive usage of features which are uncommon in spoken Galician, conferring upon the poem a highly stylised and selfconsciously “literary” quality. For this reason, it seemed imperative to conserve the dirge-like rhetoric which characterises the poem: Ah maun greet sair wi’oot tears Fir the gulliegawed doos o the licht Fir the baiten smeddum o the nicht O hure-sawlt leeberty

An attempt has been made to conserve the irregular rhyme and alliteration of the original. In the second part of the first stanza we use the Scots “ee” in a similar way to Ferreiro’s use of the long Galician “u”:

104

The Translation of Poetry from Galician into Scots and Scots into Galician The swurds hung seelent Like cauld weet afore the een An’ ah maun greet I the flichtit shedda O this smeekie wund Whilk smores the leal an cheens The herts o guidwillie men.

The second stanza of the original contains characteristic internal rhymes which we have tried to conserve – i.e. “cum” and “scum” – and an insistent repetition at the beginning of the lines: But ainly ma een hae latten me Greet lang burns o tears, An ah maun sail lang vaiges, nae shalter Fae times tae cum, times full o scum, Fae whaur the day taks on Fae whaur the new warld breirs.

The end of the poem is highly assertive - the semi-colon before “iremos indo” is important in that it creates a break with the early pessimism of the poem to a new, personal determination, echoed in the use of the two gerunds: Fir he wha greets, leeves; we wull cairry on, Cairry on, greetin’, shankin’ Wir gallus voice maun brak wi’ rage A gullie o rowst an’ stramash Tae owercome the laithfu’ dunts.

The simple, but assertive ending, separated from the two main stanzas in order to emphasise such assertion: A’ time maun hae its time An’ this is the time fir greetin’.

The meaning is clear – the time for weeping is coming to an end; the time for action – social and political – is at hand. As we mentioned at the beginning of this article, Carlos Nuñez’s combination of the Scottish and Irish bagpipes has inspired us to search for points of inflexion which touch two languages which are, in philological terms, very different and which, historically have formed parts of two very different historical traditions. Despite the perhaps contradictory reality that one of the factors for the demise of Scots was the Reformation and the decision to translate

Scotland and Europe, Scotland in Europe

105

the Bible into the second of the vernacular tongues used by James V and I – that is, English - it is a fact that Scots has been associated with Presbyterianism since before the seventeenth century. Galician, on the other hand, is a language associated historically with Catholicism. Although Galician nationalists such as Otero Pedrayo have famously declared that theirs is an Atlantic culture, in linguistic terms Galicia is closely linked to the Mediterranean. Despite such apparently vast differences, however, there is a feeling when translating to or from either of the languages that there is a certain something in “common”, a mutual sense of the precariousness of their own existence, perhaps. The Scots and Galician tongues have, it would seem, their lowest common denominator in the socio-linguistic field. Both are languages which have suffered from low prestige, both have been denounced as being inferior versions of other related languages and as such, we believe, Galician poems are relevant to the Scotsspeaking reader as Scots poems are relevant to her/his Galician-speaking counterpart.

References Barón, E. (ed) (1998). Traducir Poesía Luis Cernuda, Traductor. (Almería: Universidad de Almería). Bermann, S. (1981) (1947). The Sonnet Over Time. (The University of North Carolina). Casares, J., V. García de Diego. (1978) (1970). Diccionario de la lengua española. (Madrid: España-Calpe S.A). García Pelayo y Gross. R. (1991). Gran Diccionario Larousse (españolinglés/inglés-español). (París: Larousse). Martínez López, M. (1998). Dos traducciones españolas del Soneto LX de William Shakespeare. Análisis y una nueva versión. Muir, Edwin. (1993) (1954). An Autobiography. (Edinburgh: Canongate Classic. —. (1991). The Complete Poems of Edwin Muir. Ed. P[eter] H. Butter. (Aberdeen: Association for Scottish Literary Studies). —. (1925). First Poems. (New York: B. W. Huebsch, Inc). Newmark, P. (1995) (1982). Aproaches to Translation. (Hertfordshire: Phoenix ELT). —. (1993) (1987). Manual de traducción. (traducción de Francisco Xabier Polo). (Santiago de Compostela: Universidad de Santiago de Compostela). Norton P.B. (1994) (1768-1771). The New Enclyclopaedia Britannica. (Enclyclopaedia Britannica, Inc. Vol 27). Onions C.T (ed) . (1986) (1973). The Shorter Oxford English Dictionary. (Great Britain, Oxford: Clarendon Press. OUP. Vol 1 and 2).

106

The Translation of Poetry from Galician into Scots and Scots into Galician

Rabadón, R. (1991). Equivalencie y Traducción. (León: Universidad de León). Real Academia Galega da Lingua.(2003). Normas ortográfincas e mnorfolóxicas do idioma galego. (Santiago de Compostela: Xunta de Galicia). Serrano Valverde, F. (1998). Thom Gunn. Análisis de un texto poético con propuesta de traducción. Webster’s Enclyclopedia Unabridged Dictionary of the English Language. (1989). (New York: Dilithium Press, Ltd).

PART II VISIONS OF EUROPE

“THE BLOATED GERMAN, THE MEAGRE FRENCHMAN AND THE PLACID DUTCHMAN”: HOW BLACKWOOD’S EDINBURGH MAGAZINE SAW EUROPE AT THE BEGINNING OF THE VICTORIAN ERA CHRISTIAN AUER, UNIVERSITY OF STRASBOURG 2

It was in the nineteenth century that the press went through its most important development, that its cultural impact was the most determining and that it became an essential and inescapable element of the British democracy. As Christopher Kent puts it, in his introduction to the volume devoted to the literary magazines of the Victorian era: “Victorian Britain was above all a journalizing society1”. The number of newspapers and magazines that were published in that period – 50,000 – is ample evidence of the vitality of a sector that had begun to develop significantly at the end of the eighteenth century thanks notably to technological advances. The growing number of readers has also to be taken into account to explain the exponential growth of newspapers and magazines at that time. In the eighteenth century Edinburgh had become a centre of excellence for publishing and printing. Pioneers such as Alan Ramsay, William Creech, the publisher of Robert Burns and Adam Ferguson, or William Smellie, the creator and publisher of the Encyclopaedia Britannica, had succeeded in establishing Edinburgh as a potential rival to London. The Edinburgh Review, a Whig quarterly that had been created as early as 1802, openly asserted its independence and showed its difference by asking prominent literary figures to express their ideas on social and political issues. The venture was so successful that seven years later a group of conservatives in London decided to launch the Quarterly Review. The two magazines contributed to reinforcing the role of Edinburgh and London as major centres of literary creation2. In order to counterbalance the influence of the Edinburgh Review, William Blackwood3 decided, in April 1817, to create the Edinburgh Monthly Magazine which, some months later, changed its name to become Blackwood’s Edinburgh Magazine.

Scotland and Europe, Scotland in Europe

109

The first issues of the magazine with their attacks on local and national literary figures and their blend of literature, politics, fiction and poetry established Blackwood’s reputation. An article published in October 1817, “Translation from an Ancient Chaldee Manuscript”, in which John Gibson Lockart, John Wilson and James Hogg criticized the Edinburgh literary circles ignited a fierce controversy that obliged William Blackwood to compensate those who threatened to sue him. The magazine’s marketing strategy included the publication in book form of works first serialized in the magazine, a technique that earned Blackwood’s the name of “cradle of Victorian fiction4”. Works featured in this way included John Galt’s Ayrshire Legatees and George Eliot’s The Sad Fortunes of the Reverend Amos Barton. Blackwood’s was openly conservative and supported the traditional institutions of power such as the aristocracy or the Church and strongly opposed the Whigs’ economic philosophy of laissez-faire. To give just one example, I would like to mention an article entitled “Great Britain at the commencement of the year 18435”, in which the magazine criticized the different Whig governments that had led the country from 1835 to 1841 and whose policies had, according to Blackwood’s, seriously undermined the image of Great Britain abroad: Great Britain had got to be regarded as the most pestilent, intrusive, mischiefmaking of neighbours. A little longer and our name would have actually stunk in the nostrils of Europe. Some began to hate us; others to despise us!! all to cease dreading us. […] We were, in the words of truth and soberness, fast losing our moral ascendancy in Europe.6

The same article featured a dithyrambic portrait of Robert Peel, the conservative Prime Minister: [Sir Robert Peel] was a man preeminently distinguished by caution, sobriety and firmness of character – by remarkable clear-sightedness and strength of intellect – thoroughly practical in all things – of immense knowledge entirely at his command – of consummate tact and judgment in the conduct of public affairs – of indefatigable patience and perseverance – of imperturbable self-possession. […] add to all this a personal character of unsullied purity and a fortune so large as to place him beyond the reach of suspicion or temptation.7

The modern reader who consults Blackwood’s indexes cannot fail to be surprised by the extraordinary diversity of the themes treated by the magazine, a sign of its prodigious and fascinating intellectual curiosity. Let us here remark that the unquenchable thirst for knowledge was one of the major characteristics of the Victorian era – a perfect example of this being the impressive number of polymaths such as William Morris, who was a businessman, an artist and a poet, Charles Dodgson, who was a logician, a mathematician, a photographer, a

110

How Blackwood’s Edinburgh Magazine saw Europe at the beginning of the Victorian era

children’s writer and a poet or Francis Galton, who was an anthropologist, a statistician, an explorer and a psychologist. It is not my intention to give a comprehensive list of the subjects that were treated by the magazine, a task that would both be impossible and tedious; it might, though, be of interest to mention some of them. One of the magazine’s favourite subjects was history, be it British history, with for example articles about the reign of Charles II8, the development of the navy under the reign of Henry VII9 or a study of Irish immigration in Scotland10 or European history with for example a history of Monaco11 or an article about Peter the Great’s conquests12. Numerous articles were written about Europe, for example Belgium13, Hungary14, Italy15, Spain16 or Denmark17, about European towns such as Athens18 or Copenhagen19 but also about European regions such as Catalunia20 or the Rhineland21. Blackwood’s showed an interest for every country or region in the world, including those that did not count among the most powerful such as Cuba, Martinique or Tibet. Some of the contributors to the magazine would write articles with words or passages in foreign languages that were, most of the time, followed by translations in English – as for example in the article relating a visit to Sardinia published in July 1849: “‘La mia casa è piccola, ma il cuore è grande’, (my house is small but my heart is big)22” – but occasionally readers had to do without translations, a process providing some useful indications as to the linguistic skills of the magazine’s readers. An article entitled “German letters from Paris23” comprised several untranslated French phrases such as ‘faire la chasse aux voraces’, ‘Vous verrez de belles choses’, ‘les hommes d’esprit de Paris’ or ‘comme les cochons’24. In another article published in October 1845 there are whole sentences in Italian without any translation, one example being “Ola ! vecchio, che cosa avete pigliato quest’ oggi ?25”. Incidentally, some of the quotations contain surprising spelling mistakes, as for example in an article relating a visit to the east and south of Europe in which the French word “cochonerrie26” is misspelled. Blackwood’s also showed a deep interest for philosophy, science, religion and arts. Some of the most interesting articles are undoubtedly travel accounts, mainly because of the magazine’s comments that were inserted in the articles. Most of the time these comments would directly relate to the travellers’ experiences but they could also contain lengthy analyses of the magazine itself about the political, social or economic situation of the countries that had been visited by the travellers. Besides, it is sometimes far from easy to distinguish between the magazine’s comments and the original report of the traveller. I now would like to turn my attention to the way Blackwood’s Edinburgh Magazine saw Great Britain and the other European countries. First it has to be stated that most of the time Blackwood’s resorted to stereotypes. A stereotype reduces singularities and transforms particular observations into generic

Scotland and Europe, Scotland in Europe

111

comments. For the purpose of my study I will distinguish between autostereotypes and heterostereotypes. Autostereotypes apply to the way a group perceives itself whereas heterostereotypes qualify the way a group describes another group perceived as different. Let us start with the notion of autostereotype. How did Blackwood’s describe Great Britain and how did it assess the place of Great Britain in Europe? The following quotation, extracted form an article published in 1843, will provide some answer to that question: GREAT BRITAIN at the present moment, occupies a position of dignity, of grandeur, and of RESPONSIBILITY, unparalleled in either her own history, or that of any other nation ancient or modern.27

The magazine thought that Great Britain should intervene in European affairs only if Britain’s security was at stake. For Blackwood’s there was no doubt that British civilization was far superior to any other civilization: “England is wholly superior in civilization to the shivering splendours of the Continent28”. The magazine went as far as recommending that the British government “anglicize” India, a process that would bring prosperity and progress to the colony29. That attitude amounts to nothing more than ethnocentrism, the tendency to interpret or evaluate other cultures in terms of one's own. The British communities that Blackwood’s perceived as different namely the Celts of Ireland, Wales and Scotland, willingly or not, had to go through the filter of improvement, the inescapable process of cultural and economic transformation which was the credo of the elites of the nineteenth century30. Although the magazine gave its support to the programme implemented in 1847 to relieve the Highlands of Scotland, it considered that the Highlanders were “half-civilized men”. The phrase appeared in an article in which Blackwood’s explained the Highlanders’ reluctance to go and look for work outside the Highlands: “There are many causes […] among these are ignorance of better things, and that strangeness and helplessness, produced by a change of scene, which half-civilised men are apt to feel with almost the timidity of children.31” One of the major aims of improvement was to eradicate Celtic vices, namely laziness and indolence: The main evil that the Welsh have to contend against is one that belongs to their blood as a Celtic nation; and which, while that blood remains as much unmixed as at present there is no chance of eradicating. We allude to that which has distinguished all Celtic tribes wherever found, and at whatever period of their history – we mean their national indolence and want of perseverance – the absence of that indomitable energy and spirit of improvement which has raised the Anglo-Saxon race, crossed as it has been with so many tribes, to such a mighty position in the dominion of the world.32

112

How Blackwood’s Edinburgh Magazine saw Europe at the beginning of the Victorian era

In an article published in 1849 Blackwood’s made a most interesting and highly original comparison between the Sardes and the Irish. The passage is worth mentioning in full: We are continually struck with the resemblance between the Sardes and the native Irish. There is the same indolence, the same recklessness, superstition and Vendetta – that disregard of shedding human blood, and the same screening of the murderers, who, we are told, though well-known, visit the town on “festa days” fearlessly and with impunity. But the Vendetta of the Sardes is not only more excusable, from a habitual denial or perversion of justice, but it has its own honourable and humane laws which place it in conspicuous contrast with the too common barbarities and cruelties of our unfortunate sister island.33

According to Blackwood’s Britain’s grandeur manifested itself in the glorious power of its armies: English armies, for 120 years, ravaged France: they have twice taken its capital; an English king was crowned at Paris; a French king rode captive through London … All the great disasters and days of mourning for France, since the battle of Hastings … were all gained by English generals, and won, for the most part by English soldiers34.

This quotation will bring us to the study of the way Blackwood’s perceived other European countries. It will come as no surprise that most of the time the magazine used heterostereotypes to describe Britain’s neighbours. France, the hereditary enemy, “our irritable but glorious neighbour35”, always ready to do battle with other nations, “France is dangerous, and madly prone to hostilities36”, was probably the country that was mentioned the most by Blackwood’s: in each of the twenty-one volumes published between 1843 and 1854 there was at least one article about France. It is necessary to give some indications about the political context of the time, since it is a truism that the nature of international relations has an influence on the perception a country can have of another country. The title of the book Robert Gibson devoted to the question, Best of Enemies, and more particularly his chapter on the nineteenth century, aptly called Love, Hate and Suspicion, very explicitly show that the relations between the two countries were often ambivalent and conflictual. It is not my intention here to trace the history of Franco-British relations; I will content myself with mentioning that Napoleon’s fall and the Restoration of the Bourbons in 1830 were followed by a period of reconciliation between France and Britain. Relations became tense when the English seized Beyrouth in October 1840. Palmerson, the Prime Minister, said that France, who was always ready to extend its territorial possessions, had absolutely no right to complain: “I do not blame the French for disliking us. Their vanity prompts them to be the first nation in the world, and yet, at every turn they find that we outstrip them in

Scotland and Europe, Scotland in Europe

113

everything.37” Relations between the two countries improved some years later when the royal couple went to Dieppe in September 1843 to sign the text of the first “Entente cordiale”. The following years saw a period of détente between the two countries. When Queen Victoria came back from a visit in Paris in August 1855, she wrote that the union existed not only between the two governments but also between the two nations38. It is difficult, though, to find any trace of the improvement of the diplomatic relations between the two countries in the pages of Blackwood’s: As a nation the French lack the moral sense. What sign of moral life have they shown in the last fifty years? […] The spirit of unbelief is national. It is the spirit of French literature – of the French press – of the French academy – of the French senate39.

In 1844 the magazine devoted an entire article to Alexandre Dumas’s trip to the Rhineland. Dumas thought that one day God would ask the French nation to free the world from oppression and tyranny. The magazine decided to reformulate Dumas’s statement in an ironical way: When France shall again become a republic … she will pour her legions across every frontier, sweep all opposition before her, revolutionize and emancipate Europe, and hoist the triumphant and bloodstained tricolor (sic) over the ashes of sovereignties, and the ruins of every old and time-honoured institution40.

Other European countries were generally presented in a way which emphasized their supposedly typical characteristics. The following examples will suffice to show the magazine’s profoundly ethnocentric stance. The Greek peasant was a staunch patriot41, the Turk was ignorant42, the German was absurd and mythomaniac43 and the Spaniard, who most of the time was involved in smuggling or breaking the law, was presumptuous44. Europeans were seen as having different characteristics, but according to Blackwood’s they shared some common traits such as idleness, “on the Continent life is idle ; and the idlers are more harmlessly employed going to those pageants, than in the gin-shop45” or gambling, “the bloated German, the meagre Frenchman, the sallow Russian, even the placid Dutchman, hurry to those tables46”. The magazine’s rhetoric would occasionally verge on xenophobia, if not downright racism. In January 1843 the magazine published the account of a travel made by the marquess of Londonderry in the south and the west of Europe. Travelling in the German provinces, the marquess marvelled at the beauty of young women, a remark which did not seem to correspond to the experience of the journalist who presented the article and who, in consequence, decided to insert the following personal comment:

114

How Blackwood’s Edinburgh Magazine saw Europe at the beginning of the Victorian era In our occasional rambles on the Continent, we never saw beauty in a German visage. The rotundity of the countenance, the coarse colours, the stunted nose, and the thick lip, which constitute the general mould of the native physiognomy, are to us the very antipodes of beauty47.

These words are reminiscent of the phrenological theses that were particularly fashionable in the first half of the nineteenth century. Phrenologists thought that by examining the shape of a head or skull, one could discover the development of the particular cerebral organs responsible for different intellectual aptitudes and character traits. Blackwood’s would occasionally praise European artists or writers. Thus it showed great interest in a book called, “Du prêtre, de la femme, de la famille” whose author, the famous French historian Jules Michelet, was described as a “most subtle and sapient Frenchman48”. This remarkable book contains a denunciation, by an angry and able man, of some of the most pressing practical evils of the Roman Catholic system. The celibacy of the priesthood, the mysteries of the confessional, the usurpations of priestly direction in the economy of families, in the control of women and in the education of children49.

It is not difficult to understand that if Michelet’s book was seen in such a positive light it is precisely because his analysis corresponded to the magazine’s ideas and also because it gave the magazine the opportunity to remind its readers that the Protestant Church only could enable human beings to reach their fulfilment. Quite surprisingly, the French could, in some particular circumstances, find favour with the magazine. In the article relating the marquess of Londonderry’s travel to the south of Europe, the magazine praised the French for having taught the basic rules of hygiene to the Portuguese and the Spanish50. In the same article Blackwood’s extolled the conquering, warlike and belliquose spirit of the French: War is a rough teacher but it is evidently the only one for the Continent. The foreigner is as bigoted to his own dinginess and discomfort as the Turk to the Koran. Nothing but fear or force ever changes him. The French invasions … swept away a prodigious quantity of the cobwebs which grow over the heads of nations who will not use the brooms for themselves. […] the only glimpses of common sense which have three-fourths of Europe in our day, were let in through chinks made by the French bayonet51.

Thus a country that was regularly vilified as a dangerous enemy could serve as an example for less developed civilizations. The words “chinks made by the French bayonet” evoke some of the most extreme forms of ethnocentrism, namely genocide and ethnocide. It would be difficult to contend that

Scotland and Europe, Scotland in Europe

115

Blackwood’s thought it necessary to eradicate whole nations or whole civilizations but it also seems indisputable that the magazine thought that minor or inferior civilizations had to undergo a regenerating and, if necessary, violent process, which is why the word “ethnocide” might be more appropriate to define the magazine’s approach to other cultures and other countries. Ethnocide does not aim at the total extermination of a racial minority but rather at the destruction of its cultural identity. The concepts of ethnocide and genocide both imply that the other is inferior but whereas ethnocide considers that the other can be improved, by force if necessary, genocide implies the total disintegration of the cultural, political and social institutions of a community. To conclude, I would say that the numerous articles Blackwood’s Edinburgh Magazine devoted to Europe and to the other countries in the world evince a genuine openness to the other. But the magazine viewed other countries and civilizations, including British communities such as the Celts, with a sense of superiority expressed through the recurrent use of stereotypes. The magazine’s philosophy rested on two major ideas: first that there was a hierarchy among civilizations, which meant that there were inferior civilizations, and second that these inferior civilizations could, thanks to a, if necessary, radical and comprehensive process of transformation, become superior civilizations. Ethnocentrism and xenophobia are among the terms that best characterize the attitude of Blackwood’s Edinburgh Magazine towards foreign peoples at the beginning of the Victorian era. I would like to end this paper with a comment about the place of Blackwood’s in the British press of the time. The magazine’s editorial policy illustrates what some historians consider to be one of the chief characteristics of the Scottish political life in the middle of the nineteenth century, i.e. its nearly total integration in British politics. Admittedly, Blackwood’s would occasionally criticize the government and deplore the absence of a ministry specifically devoted to Scottish affairs52 but in general the magazine’s stance diverged only slightly from its English counterparts. Even if some historians think that in the nineteenth century the Scottish national identity did not disappear from the political scene but adapted to new circumstances, the fact remains that at that time Scotland, perhaps would it be more appropriate to use the phrase “the Lowlands of Scotland”, had experienced and was still experiencing a process of anglicisation.

Notes 1

Alvin Sullivan (ed.), British Literary Magazines, The Victorian and Edwardian Age, 1837-1913 (Westport and London : Greenwood Press, 1984) p.xiii.

116

2

How Blackwood’s Edinburgh Magazine saw Europe at the beginning of the Victorian era

For more information about the historical context of the press of the nineteenth century see for example John North, “The Rationale – Why Read Victorian Periodicals ?” in J Don Vann and Rosemary Van Arsdel, eds., Victorian Periodicals : A Guide to Research (New York : Modern Language Association, 1978), David Finkelstein, The House of Blackwood: Author-Publisher Relations in the Victorian Era (University Park: Penn State University Press, 2002) or Alvin Sullivan (ed.), British Literary Magazines: The Romantic Age, 1789–1836 (Westport, and London: Greenwood Press, 1983). 3 For biographical information about William Blackwood, see Finkelstein, The House of Blackwood, p.6 ff. 4 Cited by Roger P. Wallins in John Wain (ed.), Contemporary Reviews of Romantic Poetry (London: Harrap, 1953) p.45. 5 Blackwood’s Edinburgh Magazine, volume 53, January 1843, pp.1-23. 6 Ibid., p.15. 7 Ibid., p.3. 8 Blackwood’s, volume 76, July 1854, p.35. 9 Blackwood’s, volume 81, March 1857, p.369. 10 Blackwood’s, volume 67, March 1850, p.367. 11 Blackwood’s, volume 53, May 1843, p.573. 12 Blackwood’s, volume 76, June 1854, p.99. 13 Blackwood’s, volume 75, May 1854, p.574. 14 Blackwood’s, volume 73, March 1853, p.323. 15 Blackwood’s, volume 63, January 1848, p.98. 16 Blackwood’s, volume 62, December 1847, p.707. 17 Blackwood’s, volume 60, December 1846, p.654. 18 Blackwood’s, volume 54, September 1843, p.352. 19 Blackwood’s, volume 58, January 1845, p.68. 20 Blackwood’s, volume 62, December 1847, p.716. 21 Blackwood’s, volume 55, May 1844, p.546. 22 Blackwood’s, volume 66, July 1849, p.42. 23 Blackwood’s, volume 70, November 1851, p.433. 24 Ibid., pp. 546, 551, 554, 556. 25 Blackwood’s, volume 58, October 1845, p.493. 26 Blackwood’s, volume 53, January 1843, The East and South of Europe, p.107. 27 Ibid., Great Britain at the commencement of the year 1843, p.1. 28 Ibid., The East and South of Europe, p.102. 29 Ibid., Great Britain at the commencement of the year 1843, p.19. 30 See for example Blackwood’s, volume 66, September 1849, p.336. 31 Blackwood’s, volume 62, November 1847, p.632. 32 Blackwood’s, volume 66, September 1849, p.335. 33 Blackwood’s, volume 66, July 1849, pp. 40-41. 34 Blackwood’s, volume 61, January 1847, p.48. 35 Blackwood’s, volume 53, January 1843, Great Britain at the commencement of the year 1843, p.2. 36 Ibid., The East and South of Europe, p.118.

Scotland and Europe, Scotland in Europe

37

117

Robert Gibson, Best of enemies: Anglo-French Relations since the Norman Conquest (London: Sinclair-Stevenson, 1995) p.195. 38 Ibid., p.207. 39 Blackwood’s, volume 65, May 1849, p.530. 40 Blackwood’s, volume 55, May 1844, p.548. 41 “We are inclined to consider them [the agricultural population of Greece] as the most obstinately patriotic race on which the sun shines.” (Blackwood’s, volume 54, September 1843, p.351). 42 “The ignorant, profligate, and unprincipled Turk.” (Blackwood’s, volume 53, January 1843, p.115). 43 “Germany, absurd in many things” (Blackwood’s, volume 53, January 1843, p.107); “They [the Germans] harangue, and mystify, and magnify, but they will not act […] a tobacco-saturated and slumber-loving people.” (Blackwood’s, volume 53, January 1843, p.108). 44 “In the Peninsula roads are few, police defective […] smugglers and other lawbreakers […] appear boldly in towns, and hold themselves in every respect as every honest man as their neighbours.” (Blackwood’s, volume 61, March 1847, p.353); “no people in the world entertain such an arrogant overstrained good opinion of themselves and their country as Spaniards”. (Blackwood’s, volume 61, March 1847, p.354). 45 Blackwood’s, volume 53, January 1843, p 103. 46 Ibid., p.106. 47 Ibid., p.111. 48 Blackwood’s, volume 58, August 1845, p.187. 49 Ibid., p. 185. 50 Blackwood’s, volume 53, January 1843, p 110. 51 Ibid., p.109. 52 See for example Blackwood’s, volume 66, September 1849, and particularly pages 263 and 264.

CUMMY ON THE CONTINENT: ALISON CUNNINGHAM’S TRIP TO EUROPE WITH THE STEVENSON FAMILY IN 1863 LESLEY GRAHAM, UNIVERSITE DE BORDEAUX 2

For the first ten years of his life, Robert Louis Stevenson shared his bedroom with his nurse, Alison Cunningham (1822-1913). It is hard to overestimate the impact that this lively young woman from Fife had on his formative years and indeed her influence on the development of the young Louis Stevenson’s fertile imagination has not gone unnoticed by the writer's many biographers. Although, Claire Harman, one of the most recent of these biographers claims that Alison Cunningham did no more for the sick child than any decent person would have, others have been more charitable rarely calling into question the exceptional devotedness and selflessness she exhibited when she sat up with him during the endless feverish nights of his frequent illnesses. Stevenson himself recalled in the dedication of A Child’s Garden of Verses how she had nursed him with a comforting hand and a kind voice, declaring her to be: My second Mother, my first Wife, The angel of my infant life1

She sang him Scottish ballads, read to him from the Bible and told him stories of Covenanters and ghosts. Iain Bell notes that she “read well and without “affectation” giving him “a link with the Scots tongue which was then dying out in the better parts of the city” (Bell, 47). She was also noted for the rather French way in which she used her hands when speaking, a habit she seems to have transmitted to her “laddie” as she called him. Other biographers refer to her “dark convictions” blaming her even more than his bleakly religious father, Thomas Stevenson, for the young boy’s “precocious grasp of sin”. It is worth noting, however, that Stevenson himself did not hold her responsible in any way for the more negative aspects of his active imagination, protesting rather that it was she who gave him “a passion for the drama” (Calder, 32).

Scotland and Europe, Scotland in Europe

119

In 1863, Alison Cunningham accompanied the Stevenson family on an extended tour of the Continent. They left Edinburgh in January and went briefly to Nice, spent a month in Menton continued through Italy, Austria and Germany. This time it wasn’t Louis but his mother Margaret who was ill and it was decided that they should flee the dampness of Heriot Row in Edinburgh and seek the benefits of the warm Mediterranean sun. Louis was just 12 years old and Alison Cunningham was 40. She had been working for the Stevenson family since Louis was 18 months old and was considered part of the family to which she was, by all accounts, devoted. During this trip, however, her function was less that of Louis’ nanny and more that of Margaret Stevenson’s maid2 and other things besides. She was to look after Louis and his cousin Betty who accompanied them, act as housekeeper in Menton and even do some of the cooking. The diary kept by Alison Cunningham was not published until 1926, thirteen years after her death—she survived Louis and both of his parents—under the title Cummy’s Diary, Cummy being the name that the child had given his nurse. Originally the diary was kept for Alison Cunningham’s friend Catharine, or Cashie, who was nurse to David Stevenson’s children in a notebook bought by the friend for that purpose. However, around the month of February, perhaps in irritation at the lack of letters she was receiving from home, Alison stopped addressing herself directly to Cashie and adopted a less epistolary style. She repeatedly insists on the fact that this is a travel log and not a private journal: “I must not make a diary of this she writes” (Cunningham, 38). The publisher and editor of the diary, Robert T. Skinner uses the word “homely” to describe the book and, at first view, this description certainly seems appropriate in terms both of style and content. Michel Le Bris qualifies it as “charmant” (Le Bris, 128), while Hunter Davies judges it “extremely boring” (Davies, 11). It is clear that even at the time of its publication the book was not expected to be admired for its penetrating portrait of French mores which in any case would already have been somewhat dated, the book being published a full 63 years after the trip it recounts. Its publication was rather an opportunistic exploitation of the Stevenson connection thought worthy of dissemination more for its novelty value as another addition to the steadily growing collection of Stevensonia than for its ethnographic or topographic documentation. Work on the literature of travel has tended to concentrate on books that carry some authority and on how that authority is created and used. Cummy had no authority whatsoever other than that inherent in the fact of her presence on mainland Europe and the fact she was there with Robert Louis Stevenson. She saw the Alps, touched the Mediterranean Sea, tasted Italian food, interacted with French people, things that not many of her contemporaries had done but hardly

120

Cummy on the Continent

groundbreaking exploration. We do not even know if the keeping of the diary was ever validated by the single person to whom it was initially addressed actually reading it. It has also been pointed out that the reading of nineteenth century travel books by women is problematic in that the modern reader is often tempted to see them as proto-feminists throwing off the cloak of Victorian society encouraged by contact with alterity and finding freedom through travel Campbell. This was not the case for Alison Cunningham and it was not the case for the majority of her contemporaries. Her selection of material was conventional and feminine: the recurring themes being those of domestic arrangements, childcare, time-honoured tourism. The value of the text today lies elsewhere—in its first-hand description of one other meeting another other: of the foreigner away from home coming face to face with the strangeness of life abroad and with the realisation of her own foreignness. The diary is not the account of the discovery of a new identity; it is rather the confirmation and consolidation of familiar references and of a necessary situatedness that is at once national, cultural, social, spiritual and domestic. This was Alison Cunningham first excursion outside of Scotland and she was profoundly shocked by very many aspects of France and especially by the unfamiliar trappings of Catholicism. Her stay on mainland Europe, and indeed in London, was spoiled by the profanation of Sabbath observance, Catholic festivals celebrated in the streets of Nice and Menton, and the very sight of priests, nuns and monks. A native of Torryburn in Fife, Alison had been brought up in the most austere form of Presbyterianism framed by the Old Testament and an exalted literature extolling the virtues of the Scottish Church and the Covenanters. Her beliefs were vehemently anti-Catholic; her roots so deeply anchored in Scottish Presbyterianism that she was, quite simply, incapable of imagining the possibility of any other belief system or way of life. She was, in short, a terrible bigot; a common enough shortcoming at that time but one which Bell is unwilling to overlook: During the Victorian era the British abroad earned a reputation for arrogance and ignorance. It has been said rightly, that only their servants excelled them. Cummy—self-righteously aghast at “worldly pleasure of every kind, operas too!”—was a match for them all. Her diary is the perfection of the unquestioning belief, the parochial small-mindedness, in which Stevenson was raised. His parents may have been more sophisticated but their outlook was little different from that of their maid. It is usual to remark that society was different then, and somehow exempt from judgement. Cummy makes such charity difficult; her bigotry was timeless. (Bell, 59) 3

Everything in Europe was unpleasantly unfamiliar providing constant reminders of her displacement: the people dressed differently, the hats were

Scotland and Europe, Scotland in Europe

121

“queer-looking”, the fires were laid differently, women did their washing by the river and carried it home on their heads knitting stocking as they went, and the dinners were too grand. However, as the diary progresses, the Scottish nanny does seem to lower her guard somewhat. She grows accustomed to the traditions of these papist countries and becomes almost tolerant—a development that she herself finds alarming: I thought that I should have felt more keenly than I do in witnessing such things as I never dreamt were done in a country calling itself Christian. O Cashie, a cold dead heart is a trial of no ordinary kind. (Cunningham, 41)

Fortunately, she did derive some pleasure from certain of the activities offered to her on the Continent although she didn’t always admit it, and we occasionally catch a glimpse of a slightly more frivolous side to her character. She was attracted by the Alps above Menton and expressed a naïve desire to climb to the highest of them. She was an enthusiastic tourist in Rome and Florence and even lay down flat in a gondola in Venice to better see the stars. She was similarly fascinated by Pompei4. Her taste for the ghoulish was also indulged in Paris with a visit to the morgue to see the bodies of murder victims waiting to be identified and reclaimed, an excursion which constituted a memorable day out for the woman who enjoyed taking Louis for walks in Warriston cemetery and regaling him with tales of bodysnatchers. Despite all of her protestations and undoubted initial shock at grown men worshipping gaudy dolls, and priests enjoying carnival, we also detect an irresistible fascination with the rites of the Catholic Church. Here on the continent, she is actually allowed to go into Catholic churches, a thing that would be unthinkable at home. She had the opportunity to observe priests and nuns at close range and to become acquainted, albeit superficially, with Catholics, notably the young girl Marie who was taken on to help in the house rented by the Stevensons during their sojourn in Menton. Alison Cunningham was almost exactly the same age as another Scotswoman who had written of her stay on the Côte d’Azur, Margaret Maria Brewster, daughter of David Brewster the celebrated physicist. Perhaps Cummy had read Margaret Maria Brewster’s treatise on feminine occupations: Work or Plenty to Do and How to Do It which had been very successful and must have been exactly the sort of edifying literature that she would have approved of. She could then be certain that Brewster’s Letters from Cannes and Nice published six years before her own stay in the South of France would be suitable reading. And Alison Cunningham certainly did read the book attentively because although there is no explicit reference to it in the diary a rapid comparison of the paragraphs below leave no doubt that this entire passage in Cummy’s Diary was copied almost word for word from her compatriot’s travel book.

122

Cummy on the Continent

Brewster 1856 There is scarcely a plant mentioned in Scripture which is not found here. (Brewster, 145) Yes! We have heather and broom here, but the heather is not quite that of bonnie Scotland. It is a tall bushy shrub, with large branches, covered thick with the tiniest little white bells, lined with black velvet and giving out a rich, heavy odour which some people cannot bear in a room, though it is delicious out of doors. Neither is the broom “the broom of the Cowdenknowes”—neither so golden nor so beautiful, though it bears a sufficient resemblance to tantalize homesick eyes. (Brewster, 154-155)

Cunningham 1863 There is scarcely a plant mentioned in Scripture which is not found here. We have heather and broom also, but the heather is not quite that of bonnie Scotland. It is a tall bushy shrub, with large branches, covered thick with the tiniest, little white bells, lined with black. It has a rich, heavy odour which is delicious out of doors but it is not the broom of the Cowdenknowes5, neither so golden nor so beautiful. (Cunningham, 39)

The sentences from Margaret Maria Brewster’s Letters from Cannes and Nice are very slightly modified: not enough to allow the possibility of Alison Cunningham unconsciously remembering them, but enough to make them fit her own style a little more comfortably. In the manuscript of the diary which is held by The Writers’ Museum in Lady Stair’s House in Edinburgh the borrowing is materialized in no way: there are no notes, no quotation marks, no underlining, no attribution. Given the circumstances, however, I believe it would be too harsh to accuse Alison Cunningham of plagiarism. She had, after all, no idea that the diary was going to be published. It was, rather, written for her own pleasure and that of her friend back home, not for a wider audience. Indeed, she was dead by the time it was thought to be of enough anecdotal interest to be published. Rather than exacerbating the modern reader’s impatience with Alison Cunningham’s small-mindedness, her bigotry, her unwillingness to be enriched by contact with foreign places, the unattributed borrowing serves in fact to highlight her insecurity, drawing attention to the uncomfortable ambiguity of her position. The copying points to a chink in that severe nanny armour offering us a glimpse of a hidden woman with fewer certainties and prejudices. She was an outsider, a stranger, an interloper in so many different ways occupying a marginal position as a Scot in a foreign land, a Protestant in a Catholic country, an unmarried woman in the service of a close Victorian family, a servant mutating between the position of nurse and lady’s maid, a childless woman yet a professional mother, and a healthy person surrounded by invalids. Little wonder then that she felt unsure enough of her own identity, even inadequate enough, to bolster her writing with someone else’s words and observations. Through displacement6 and the consequent recognition, perhaps for the first time, of her

Scotland and Europe, Scotland in Europe

123

marginality she had inspected her position in the world from a new perspective and found herself wanting. This borrowing of this polished passage would also have been a way of impressing the young Robert Louis Stevenson at a time when she must have felt he was growing up and slipping away from her. It is clear that the twelve-yearold read the journal since she notes that he asks her to correct some factual errors, that he dictated a couple of passages and that he contributed some sketches. Biographers have noted how Cummy’s possessiveness of her laddie sometimes "verged on a desire to control" and that “Psychologically, it is interesting to reflect upon the fact that Cummy was inducing a state of mental tumult which only she could calm”7. In Europe much of what the fledgling Louis Stevenson saw and heard negated what his nurse had taught him. Bell surmises that “to see her so exposed, her omnipotence so easily negated, must have had its effect” (Bell, 57) During the time they spent away fom Scotland, Cummy’s influence must have been declining as her role as nanny came to an end. At the same time Robert Louis Stevenson was gaining assurance and his literary interests were taking shape. Dissatisfied with what she called “this illwritten journal”, she simply borrowed some observations she judged better made and perhaps more perceptive than her own pedestrian remarks and tiresome outrage. An early biographer, A. H. Japp, describes “the deep and lasting effect a good and earnest woman, of whom the world may never hear, may have had upon a youngster of whom all the world shall hear” (Japp, 28). “For generations” claims Furnas, “this institution of the substitute mother has done strange things to upper-class British children, perhaps to their parents in repercussion, often to "Nanny" herself” (Furnas, 28). However, Stevenson wrote to Cummy later in life and assured her of his gratitude for her care, declaring “you have been for a great deal in my life; you have made much that there is in me, just as surely as if you had conceived me; and there are sons who are more ungrateful to their own mothers than I am to you”8 Although in an essay entitled “Nurses” he pities the sort of the nurse who has spent the happiest years of her life loving a child that is not hers and who ends up being treated like a servant by the very child who had treated her as a mother only a few years earlier. He ends the short essay with a call for an end to the very existence of nurses. I believe in a better state of things, that there will be no more nurses, and that every mother will nurse her own offspring; for what can be more hardening and demoralising than to call forth the tenderest feelings of a woman's heart and cherish them yourself as long as you need them, as long as your children require a nurse to love them, and then to blight and thwart and destroy them, whenever your own use for them is at an end9.

124

Cummy on the Continent

Despite the fact that “Scottish servants had a reputation for familiarity in those days. Regarded, and regarding themselves, as integral parts of the household…”(Bell, 48), the position was not without it tensions and Cummy’s Diary conveys some of the unease inherent in being a woman servant abroad: having no room of one’s own but sleeping on a little bed made up in one of the children’s rooms, being “obliged to go to the table d'hôte” surrounded by people one doesn’t know feeling like “a bogle among them” (Cunningham, 24), and consequently preferring to have a cup of tea instead of a meal, having no money with which to tip the waiters on a Sunday as everyone else does. However displaced geographically, Alison Cunningham was never able to forget of her allotted place in the social order: Well, Cash, what do you think the hotel people charge for me every day? Four francs, that is 3s 4d. of our money. What a high charge! I forget how much it is they charge for the others. Of course it is much higher. (Cunningham, 24)

She does occasionally seem to call her place in that social order into question and a certain resentment is perceptible in the diary, notably when she feels ill and considers that she is not receiving sufficient attention. She complains: “The Free Church minister has been calling, but not for me. As you say, Cash, had I been rich, he would have asked after me also.” (Cunningham, 26) Even more than at home, the condition of servant abroad is an infantilising one and Alison Cunningham is not unaware of this. During the stay in Menton, she graduates to being sent out to buy things and remarks: “Am trying now to go a message, but am told what to say or sometimes it is written down for me just like a bairn” (Cunningham, 32) She does not believe she will ever pick up enough French to be understood. Mrs Stevenson speaks it very well but “Of course, she has been taught” observes Cummy (Cunningham, 63). A plaintive, self-pitying tone sets in at some points.10 She feels neglected both by friends at home and by the valetudinarian Stevensons. I could scarcely keep myself warm in the house, though I had on a warm Shetland shawl, but I have it on every day, so Mrs Stevenson takes no notice of it now. She used to call it the flag of distress. Why, I know not. I have not been out to-day; I very seldom am now, I see so little time for it. (Cunningham, 76)

She states several times that she will appreciate her home country all the more when she returns but the unaccustomed contact with strangers also appears to have made her call into question the wider significance of her own national identity, that is to say her Scottishness. She recounts the following incident which took place in Florence.

Scotland and Europe, Scotland in Europe

125

At the table d’hôte yesterday a man, thinking himself a fine gentleman, I’ve no doubt, asked me if I were English. I said Yes. When I was asked that at first, I used to say “Scotch”, and they told me it was all the same, but I told this fellow I was from England, so after a little he said, “Are you not Scotch?” I said, “Of course, I am”; then he began and insulted me, and said I had denied my country. I told him I considered what I said implied both countries, but I said, so far from having denied my country, it was the reverse, I said I was proud of Scotland, and proud to say I was a native of it. (Cunningham, 146)11

The nurse finds this episode extremely destabilising, so much so that she can hardly hold her fork for the rest of the meal. Alison Cunningham’s reputation has evolved over the years. From the unanimously admired nurse, “the good and earnest woman”, she was to become towards the end of her life, the handsome, elderly lady holding court a house in Morningside frequented by those eager to claim they had shaken the hand of RLS’s opinionated nurse, and more recently—like Fanny Stevenson—she appears either to inspire unconditional admiration or condemnation with nothing in-between. She is portrayed either as a money-grabbing survivor slowly selling off the inscribed book gifted to her by her charge or as the paragon of surrogatemotherly love basking in the bemused admiration of Stevensonians such as Lord Guthrie who even published a little book about her12. From all accounts, she did not suffer fools gladly and spoke her mind freely. Whatever the verdict on her influence, one is forced to conclude that the five months spent discovering Europe are not a mind-broadening experience for Alison Cunningham. Far from finding the opportunity to travel abroad a privilege, she experienced it as a trial declaring towards the end of her journal: I trust it has been good for me that I have for a season been deprived of the privileges which I enjoy in my own land. No blessing is prized as it ought to be, till we are deprived of it. (Cunningham, 190)

Yet, despite her failings as a traveller and despite all of her apologies for her ill-written journal, Cummy's diary is a document worth attending to because hers is an authentic voice, clearly conveying that dogged situatedness that she clung to for the survival of her personal identity. Ultimately, one can’t help regretting that she didn’t later accompany Louis and Fanny Stevenson with Margaret Stevenson to the Pacific Islands. Would she, one wonders, have been as impervious to the experience of the South Seas as she was to that of Europe?

126

Cummy on the Continent

References Bassnett, Susan. "Travel Writing and Gender". In The Cambridge Companion to Travel Writing. Peter Hulme and Tim Youngs (eds). Cambridge: CUP, 2002. Bell, Ian. Dreams of Exile: Robert Louis Stevenson. A Biography. Edinburgh: 1999, Mainstream. Calder, Jenni. RLS: A Life Study. London: Hamish Hamilton, 1980. Campbell, Mary Baine, "Travel Writing and Its theory." In The Cambridge Companion to Travel Writing. Peter Hulme and Tim Youngs (eds). Cambridge: CUP, 2002. Cunningham, Alison. Cummy's diary; a diary kept by R. L. Stevenson's nurse, Alison Cunningham, while travelling with him on the continent during 1863, preface and notes by Robert T. Skinner. London: Chatto and Windus, 1926. Davies, Hunter. The Teller of Tales : In Search of Robert Louis Stevenson. London: Sinclair-Stevenson, 1994. Furnace, J.C. Voyage to Windward: The Life of Robert Louis Stevenson. London: Faber and Faber, 1950. Graham, Lesley. "Ecossais, Anglais ou Britanniques? Les voyageurs écossais en France au XIXe siècle et la nationalité écossaise". In Etudes Ecossaises 2. Grenoble: Université Stendhal, 1993. Guthrie, Charles John (Lord Guthrie). “Cummy” The Nurse of Robert Louis Stevenson: A Tribute to the Memory of Alison Cunningham. Edinburgh:Otto Schulze, 1913. Harman, Claire. Robert Louis Stevenson: A Biography. London: HarperCollins, 2005. Japp, A. H. Robert Louis Stevenson, a Record, an Estimate, a Memorial. London: 1905. Le Bris, Michel. Robert Louis Stevenson. Les années bohémiennes 1850/1880. Paris: Nil, 1994. Masson, Rosaline. The Life of Robert Louis Stevenson. Edinburgh: W & R Chambers, 1923. Morgan, Marjorie. National Identitites and Travel in Victorian Britain. London: Palgrave, 2001. Stevenson, Robert Louis. "Sketches 1V : Nurses" in Lay Morals and other Papers. Edinburgh: 1896, http://dinamico.unibg.it/rls/essays%5Claymor%5Clm-16.htm —. A Child’s Garden of Verses. London: Penguin, 1952 (1885). —. The Letters of Robert Louis Stevenson to his Family and Friends select'ed and edited with notes and introduction by Sidney Colvin, Volume 1. London: Methuen and Co, 1899.

Scotland and Europe, Scotland in Europe

127

Notes 1

Robert Louis Stevenson, A Child's Garden of Verses, p. 5. According to Rosaline Masson, Alison Cunningham stayed on with the Stevenson family as Margaret Stevenson’s maid after Louis turned ten (Masson, 44). 3 Michel Le Bris is much less harsh. He writes, "Ceux qui veulent à toute force décrire le petit Louis persecute par une nurse hystérique, soumis à un veritable lavage de cerveau, gagneraient à lire ce petit livre [Cummy's Diary] : ils y découvriraient que les excès de zèle de la brave Cummy faisaient plutôt sourire Thomas et Maggie, qui la taquinaient volontiers (en essayant, par exemple, de la faire aller à confesse), ou que le petit Louis en était si peu la victime qu'il savait en jouer…" (Le Bris, 137) 4 Michel Le Bris writes: “les pages qu’elle consacre à cette visite sont d’une précision dans le rendu du détail, d’une émotion, d’une justesse d’écriture qui révèlent chez elle une vraie qualité d’âme." (Le Bris, 134). However, as we shall see, anaccustomed soulfulness on the part of Alison Cunningham is not always entirely original. 5 Skinner included a footnote in the published version of the diary pointing out that the Cowdenknowes are "Near Earlson in Berwikshire. The name occurs in Scottish song." (Cunningham, 39). "The Broom of the Cowdenknowes" is, in fact the title of a wellknown Scottish folk song. 6 The feeling of displacement seems almost to have been somatised in recurrent references to a peculiar feeling in her head. 7 James Pope Hennessey. Robert Louis Stevenson (London, 1974) p. 30 quoted by Bell p. 48. 8 Stevenson, The Letters of Robert Louis Stevenson to his Family and Friends p. 26. 9 Stevenson, Robert Louis. "Sketches 1V : Nurses" in Lay Morals and other Papers. Edinburgh: 1896. http://dinamico.unibg.it/rls/essays%5Claymor%5Clm-16.htm 10 Bell, rather unfairly, refers to this as her “vapouring”. 11 Cf. Lesley Graham, "Ecossais, Anglais ou Britanniques? Les voyageurs écossais en France au XIXe siècle et la nationalité écossaise" for a more detailed discussion of the declarations made by Scottish travellers regarding their nationality during this period. This passage is also cited by Marjorie Morgan in National Identitites and Travel in Victorian Britain as an illustration of Victorian travellers’ "imprecise usage of national identity terminology" (196). 12 Guthrie, Charles John (Lord Guthrie). “Cummy” The Nurse of Robert Louis Stevenson: A Tribute to the Memory of Alison Cunningham. Edinburgh:Otto Schulze, 1913. 2

“SOMEWHERE THAT IS NOT SCOTLAND”: VISIONS OF EUROPE IN CONTEMPORARY SCOTTISH LITERATURE DAVID LEISHMAN, STENDHAL UNIVERSITY, GRENOBLE

In a review of La Nouvelle Alliance–a work which examines how French culture has influenced Scottish literary production1–the critic and academic Margery Palmer McCulloch sought to contest the notion of a direct French “influence” on some of the works of Scottish fiction being discussed. Writing in particular about Janice Galloway’s novel Foreign Parts, which is mainly set in France, McCulloch suggests that the relationship between the two principal characters does not depend on the novel’s specific setting, which ultimately proves immaterial. She concludes by stating: Foreign Parts is not of necessity France, but somewhere that is not Scotland.2

This paper builds on this second premise: namely, that the foreign locations which play a crucial role in much contemporary Scottish fiction are often, as in the case of Foreign Parts, resolutely situated in Europe. While, in the case of Galloway’s novel it is true that the setting need not be France, it is also true that it would not have the same resonance if it were, say, an Anglo-Saxon destination. In effect, far from being indeterminate and interchangeable, this “somewhere that is not Scotland” corresponds, in much of today’s Scottish fiction, to a precisely determined European setting. Indeed, there would seem to be an emerging tendency in Scottish letters to equate Europe with otherness. For decades, Scottish literature has continued to contribute to the powerful cultural myth of the Scot-in-Exile, with characters–and indeed their authors– often displaying a propensity towards flight and exile which echoes Scotland’s historical culture of emigration. However, in order to illustrate the shift of focus that has taken place over the last twenty-odd years it is necessary to contrast the new European preoccupations of many of the younger Scottish authors with the more traditional English-speaking destinations that remained the focus of much fictional writing on emigration well into the 1980s.

Scotland and Europe, Scotland in Europe

129

Attributing the role of the Other to mainland Europe is perhaps a logical step for a literary tradition which never portrayed Anglo-Saxon destinations as being truly foreign, tending instead to represent them as glorified versions of the already familiar domestic culture–that is to say versions of Scotland that were, larger, sunnier, more affluent or less guilt-ridden. In opposition to the image of the English-speaking world, the linguistic, cultural and existential impact of European travel comes across as a potentially much more profound and disconcerting experience, with the result that Europe often plays the role of catalyst in Scottish fiction, precipitating upheavals in terms of character psychology, dramatic structure and narrative voice. Following on from this is the fact that a previously strong tradition of what could be described as the “emigration novel” has–concurrent with the incorporation of this more recent European dimension in fiction–been superseded by the rise of the “returnee novel”. Undoubtedly, sheer geographical proximity coupled with a strong British tradition of holidaying abroad is partly responsible for the vision of Europe as a merely transitory destination. Nevertheless, the image of Europe, no matter how fleeting, does not simply correspond to that of the momentary exoticism of second homes, camper vans and package tours. Instead, the “returnee novel”, which ends with the journey home to Scotland, first situates dramatic, life-changing events and moments of perspicacity in a European context. We shall conclude by exploring the undeniable political and ideological ramifications of such a schema. To appreciate the significance of European destinations in the writing of some of Scotland’s most contemporary novelists, it can be useful to remember the preoccupation with English-speaking Commonwealth and American destinations in much Scottish fiction until the 1990s. The dream of escaping Scotland to “The Great Englishes”3 represents, in the fiction of writers such as James Kelman or Jeff Torrington, a powerful motif. Such longing structures Torrington’s Swing Hammer Swing!, which culminates in the hitherto unspoken, final-page admission that the narrator is to leave run-down Glasgow for “Down Under”.4 But while this novel illustrates very clearly how the very mention of Commonwealth emigration can sometimes represent closure and finality–the diegetic end point towards which characters have evolved and beyond which there is literally nothing but a blank page–, much of Kelman’s fiction stresses the impossibility of exile to the New World. In James Kelman’s The Busconductor Hines, the mental anguish of Rab Hines is offset, and intensified, by his awareness of the alternative life that could be his if only he decided, as his own brother has already done, to emigrate to Australia, “land of the long hot summer”.5 Similarly, in How Late it Was, How Late, Sammy entertains illusory daydreams of becoming part of an American cowboy culture composed of Lone

130

Visions of Europe in Contemporary Scottish Literature

Star State belt buckles and half-remembered Country and Western lyrics. The short story “A notebook to do with America”, while concluding that such fantasies are ultimately often “just talk”,6 also reminds the reader of the intense social and personal hardship that gives rise to such palliatives. It is significant that such writing of the 1980s and early 1990s often situates the possibility of exile in a clearly circumscribed near past–the slum clearances and two-man buses in The Busconductor Hines suggest the 1960s or early 1970s, while Swing Hammer Swing! is explicitly set in the year the Beatles brought out the film Yellow Submarine, 1968. Flight to the English-speaking world is thus consigned to history even as it is being evoked. What is depicted is a destination that was once attainable, but which, even at the time of writing, now seems increasingly remote. The popular imagination appeared to be losing confidence in the myth of the potency and facility of Anglo-Saxon emigration, coinciding perhaps with the Australian government’s decision to end subsidised emigration for UK nationals in 1982. And as talk of the “single market” and “free movement” soon replaced that of “ten-pound passages” from the 1980s onwards, it is unsurprising that the next generation of Scottish writers began to depict Europe as the key locus of self-realisation and encounter. Europe, geographically close and culturally distant in inverse proportion to the English-speaking world, is not characterised by the inseparable tensions of the definitive exile and the nigh-impossible departure. A new European problematics of transience, transformation and return are perhaps best exemplified by the 1995 novel Morvern Callar. Although not the first of the stream of Scottish novels in the mid-nineties set, at least partially, in continental Europe, its portrayal of a young, female supermarket employee from Oban who escapes abroad to Spain contains a number of the themes that run through much modern Scottish writing about Europe. For instance, the novel acknowledges, but quickly subverts, the package tour image of the Spanish coast. The novel’s eponymous character, Morvern, initially finds herself in a typical tourist destination where the British “Youth Med” holidaymakers evolve in a gruesome caricature of their home country’s pubs and clubs which ensures that contact with local inhabitants, language and culture is minimal. However, underlining the sterility of such a perversion of the notion of travel, Morvern soon deserts the overcrowded high-rise hotels, the rowdy pool games, and the intoxicated, sunburnt Brits who keep themselves amused through a disturbing combination of self-harm and excessive alcohol consumption. Instead, Morvern takes a day-long taxi ride to another, smaller, resort which, while more authentic and picturesque, has enough newly-built concrete hotels to avoid any charges of triteness.

Scotland and Europe, Scotland in Europe

131

Morvern chooses to lose herself in a culture which is truly foreign to her, as symbolised by subtle but incontrovertible shifts in the semiotics of the highway code (a pet concern for Morvern): the lines up the middle of the road are yellow, not white; the red car on the “No Overtaking” sign now appears on the wrong side of the road (p.122)7. Morvern greets Spain with silence and solitude, but these are not to be understood as defensive reactions against the unfamiliarity of the experience. The silence is the result of Morvern’s inability to express herself in Spanish or to even understand what the locals are saying, with the result that she ends up not “even listening to the sounds of the words” (p.123). But communication is established none the less, stripped down to more basic, more fundamental, forms: mime, gesture, exchanges of drinks and cigarettes, simple acts of kindness and courtesy that are free of the duplicity that has wounded Morvern in the past. In a moment of symbolic self-realisation, it is here in Spain that the taciturn Morvern learns her surname’s hidden signification, “Callar” in Spanish meaning “silence, to say nothing” (p.125). Morvern’s isolated existence in Spain is a rejection of her boorish compatriots more than that of a Spanish culture which intrigues and excites her, whether it be the exotic-smelling smoke of unknown brands of cigarettes (p.121) or the intensity of ritual displayed by Catholic fishing communities (p.153-156). This solitariness is characteristic of a period of introspection and anonymity in which Morvern seems to be undoing and freeing herself of her old established cultural and personal identity: this is particularly noticeable in the scene where Morvern writhes, wordlessly, with strangers in the near-blackness of a deafening nightclub, then, now alone, strips and immerses herself in the “darknesses” of the Mediterranean before re-emerging naked onto the beach (p.208). Morvern, having returned to Spain for a second time, settles into a hedonistic lifestyle of solitary nightclubbing, bathing and eating out. Nevertheless, the narcissistic impulses of such pampering, as evidenced by the detailed account of her pedicure routine, are tempered by an acute sense of anticipated loss as Morvern, the Oban-raised shelf-stacker, foresees the end of the pleasures which she never dared could be hers and which she knows cannot last. Even avoiding sleep since it would deprive her of precious minutes of this happiness, all that Morvern can hope for is that this European idyll should last “just a little longer” (p.213). Morvern’s sense of wonder that there should be “such a lot of happiness in one place” may seem indicative of her naivety, but it also comes from her realisation that she is not one of the “lucky so and so’s” for whom Spain is home (p.123). The closing pages of the novel, depicting Morvern’s return to a bleak, wintry Scotland, apparently after an absence of a number of years, confirms the European chapters as a sensual interlude which has inevitably drawn to a close. However, Morvern returns pregnant, her unborn child symbolising both the

132

Visions of Europe in Contemporary Scottish Literature

lasting transformation that Europe has brought about and the continuity that now exists for her between the two locations. Importantly, Morvern, who had travelled to Spain on the money she made as a literary impostor, having appropriated the manuscript of her dead boyfriend, now also returns to Scotland as a narrator in her own right, taking pains to note things down in the “big notebook” she carries with her (p.228). Indeed, the novel charts Morvern’s apprenticeship as an autodiegetic narrator, who, despite her manifest hesitancy and uncertainty over language in general and writing in particular, has related the story in her own inimitable style. The novel thus stresses that Morvern, after Europe, has overcome the silence bequeathed by her Spanish name and found her own narrative voice, in a process that has been described as a symbolic liberation of the silenced Scottish underclass.8 Morvern Callar suggests then not only the catalysing effect of European travel on the psyche of the otherwise unworldly Scot, but also an inevitable return as that Scot then returns home. For Morvern, in characteristically taciturn style, the reasons of this return remain something of a mystery, while other works of Scottish fiction clearly set similar returns in a context of disillusionment as the European experience, although rich in incident or consequence, ultimately proves an illusory solution to characters’ quests or conflicts. Two such examples are the novels Drivetime, by James Meek and Rolling, by Thomas Healy. James Meek’s postmodernist second novel takes the form of a surreal central European road-trip which covers Belgium, Italy, the Ukraine and finishes up in North Ossetia. The text, however, takes care never to identify these countries by name, but only by the cities they contain (e.g. Gent, Naples, Vladikavkaz), which accentuates the sense of seamlessly drifting across elusive and unfamiliar territory. The novel is centred on the search for an egg painted to look like the moon, which an eccentric antique collector wishes to see returned to him, a task he entrusts to the improbably named Alan Allen who had initially planned merely to travel to Glasgow. Allen’s double name is significant, particularly so when compared with such characters as Deirdre, D-D, Dora D-D or the Captain Alan Allen that his Scottish namesake eventually discovers in the Northern Caucasus. Taken together, these character names, with their bewildering alliterative and homonymic structures and near-palindromes, point to a novel concerned with the themes of replication, duplicity and illusion. After travelling through a Europe whose disturbing unfamiliarity is constantly reinforced through recurrent scenes which re-introduce incidents already experienced, Allen finds the egg, but in a secure mental hospital, the ultimate expression of all the oddness that he has encountered. Allen is then duped out of his identity by the very person who had launched him on this quest

Scotland and Europe, Scotland in Europe

133

and finds himself locked inside the high-walled grounds of the asylum. When Allen attempts to escape, he drives for hours, then days, without ever reaching the boundary wall which encloses the asylum, only to unexpectedly then find himself in Glasgow. The quest across Europe has been a disappointing chimera, the egg’s depiction of the moon revealing its true import as a symbol of delusive movement and progress. The moon regularly evoked by the text ultimately relates to the one that children often fancy is flitting hurriedly alongside as they view it from a moving vehicle. Seemingly keeping apace with them no matter how fast they travel, the stationary moon symbolises deceptive and illusory motion. Thus the frenzied European road-trip to retrieve the decorated moonegg is doomed to failure, and the only true resolution will come about through recognising the illusion of movement, abandoning the impossible goal and returning to the normality of home. In the novel, the futility of the quest is established from the outset, prefigured by a dialogue whose unsettling spatial logic, suggesting a fundamental decoupling of motion and progress, is reminiscent of Alice’s race with the Red Queen in Through the Looking-Glass. Let’s go, said Alan. How long before we get there? said Deirdre. I don’t know, said Alan. If we keep going long enough, we run out of road, or we get back where we started. But they keep on building new roads, so you can never run out. And they keep rebuilding the old ones, so you never get back to exactly the same place. In that case, we’d better hurry, said Alan.9

Alan’s initial desire to make haste is contrasted with other characters who stress the futility of his movements. This, compounded by the unnerving recurrence of the same incidents and characters that Alan encounters, add to the novel’s insistence that it is the temporal and not the spatial dimension of travel which ultimately matters, or, in the words of one character that: “You put too much into riding the road and you miss out on riding the years.” (p.66). What Alan has gained from the bizarre encounters during his European odyssey is maturity and experience, and the return to his native Scotland is accompanied by a sense of closure and resolution which suggests that his time in Europe, although disquieting and ultimately fruitless, has functioned as a rite of passage. The novel Rolling delivers a similar message in starker terms, recounting the ill-fated attempts of Michael, a Scottish alcoholic, to give up drinking. Here, travel is not restricted to Europe as Michael travels the globe over a period of decades attempting to stay sober and start afresh in countries as far flung as Australia. The European dimension is particularly strong, however, since Michael’s strongest hope of an alternative life exists in Germany, where he has

134

Visions of Europe in Contemporary Scottish Literature

fathered two children. His intense desire to lead a sober life in Germany and to take care of the children he most evidently loves, is constantly confounded by his irrepressible addiction to alcohol. In a key scene, the autodiegetic narrator decides to abandon his German children and return to the UK, but this is powerfully and convincingly described as “the only noble thing that I did, that I walked away, left Germany and all that I loved”.10 In effect, it is in a European context that Michael finally confronts his own wretchedness, accepting that the abjection wrought on him by his incurable alcohol abuse would only cause him to harm his young family were he to stay. The sense of renunciation and sacrifice is intensified by the distance, both cultural and geographic, that is now firmly set to separate the narrator from the offspring who will remain foreign to him and whose words already have to be presented in the text through translation (p.148). Europe is thus again a step towards to the inevitable return, with the journey back to Scotland symbolising the narrator’s painful eschewal of illusory solutions in favour of the bitter realism of self-awareness. Flight and exile are therefore once again invalidated, and Michael’s final act–the purchase of a “a ticket, a return to Glasgow” (p.161)–merely confirms an earlier comment: It took years, all of the sixties and into the eighties before I discovered there was no escape, that you are what you are and are doomed with yourself. (p.69)

Initially Trainspotting might appear an exception to this emerging tradition of return from Europe since the novel ends as Mark Renton, having betrayed and robbed his friends, cuts his ties with Scotland and sets sail for Amsterdam. The closing paragraphs detail his thoughts as he nervously anticipates the new life which will be his in Europe, where, as in Morvern Callar, the promise of emancipation is to be realised through anonymous individualism. In Trainspotting however, the novel’s dramatic climax integrates the prospect of Frank Begbie’s uncontained violence to seal Renton’s self-imposed exile and render it irreversible, and it is the certainty that Renton would now meet his death if he were to ever return from Europe which justifies the description of him having “burn[t] his boats completely and utterly”.11 In a novel where drug use is prevalent, Amsterdam seems tempting as a symbol of European liberalism or laxity to which the Edinburgh junkies are ultimately inevitably drawn. Elsewhere, this is clearly confirmed: the Irvine Welsh short story “Eurotrash”, true to its title, certainly depicts Amsterdam as the last haven of the marginalised as they seek a definitive retreat from conventional social and sexual mores.12 Nevertheless, no matter how irrevocable the ending of Trainspotting, the novel has already adumbrated the possibility of European return. This is done, for example, through its mention of Renton’s former employment on North Sea

Scotland and Europe, Scotland in Europe

135

ferries which used to take him to and from the continent, or through the character of Simon Williamson, whose occasional sexual forays into France serve to illustrate, albeit in an exploitative and unappealing manner, a worldly, bilingual “schemie” who refuses to be confined, whether socially, linguistically or geographically, to the housing estate in which he has grown up. But Trainspotting must ultimately be read as merely the first novel in an open-ended series which notably includes the later novels Glue and Porno. One characteristic of Irvine Welsh’s writing is the use of recurrent characters who regularly appear throughout his fiction, with Mark Renton and his acquaintances no exception to the rule. In Glue, we learn, in passing, that someone called Renton has apparently re-appeared in Scotland after having “ripped off his mates”13, while the novel Porno focuses more intently on the original characters of Trainspotting again, moving backwards and forwards between Scotland and the Netherlands as Renton’s past catches up with him. This novel again ends with Renton betraying his former friends and escaping from Edinburgh, but this time his “flight” is achieved by means of a budget airline. According to the Departures Board, this could be taking him to any number of English or European destinations, including Frankfurt, Munich, Dublin and Amsterdam, and these bewildering, multiple possibilities facilitate his sudden escape.14 EasyJet, its name appearing as the title of the second-last chapter (pp.475-479), becomes the symbol of the new ease with which Welsh’s resolutely European characters are now able to jet around the continent on the cheap. Rather than focusing on return, or on the definitiveness of exile, Welsh’s fiction insists on the constant proximity of Europe as a readily-accessible destination whose cultural differences, now cheaply, easily and therefore widely experienced, are shown to be shaping the evolution of even the lowliest inhabitants of Scotland’s housing schemes. When one of Glue’s autodiegetic narrators, Carl Ewart, introduces his account of a trip to Germany, his chapter is entitled: “Ich Bin Ein Edinburgher” (pp.229-244). Beyond the cod German and the throwaway intertextuality of the Kennedy lampoon lies a very real expression of cultures colliding. Indeed, in Glue, this same cheap-flight culture has opened up continental Europe to the novel’s four working-class protagonists–quite distinct from those in Trainspotting–who are able to travel to the “Italia ’90” football tournament (p.173) or to the Munich Beer Festival. The profusion of drink and dance in Munich, as well as its relaxed atmosphere of toleration, reiterates the image of a hedonistic Europe, which contrasts–as was already the case with the Balearics or Amsterdam–with the myth of Scotland’s inherent, Calvinist dourness. In a novel where travel and flight are not restricted to Europe (Australia, in particular, is again also cited) the Munich chapters are nevertheless singled out, in terms of narrative structure, as being of particular importance.

136

Visions of Europe in Contemporary Scottish Literature

They represent what is by far the largest continuous section (pp.229-290) related by a single voice in a novel which has hitherto equally shared out the bulk of the narration between four alternating, but clearly identified, autodiegetic narrators in chronologically ordered sections. The Munich chapters, however, mark the end of this carefully structured narrative architecture, with the next concluding section a much more confused jumble of less readily identifiable voices that oscillate between locations in Scotland and abroad. The reason for this breakdown is that Europe has again played the role of catalyst: the incidents in Munich represent the passage in which the “glue” of the title becomes unstuck. It is in Munich that the four companions are all together for the last time before their friendship comes undone following the subsequent suicide of one of their number; it is here that this breakdown will be prefigured, as the characters, in the midst of the drunken revelry, are forced to confront their own and each other’s bleakness through an initial suicide attempt, the discovery of a wasting disease, or the admission of their desire to emigrate. Nevertheless, in conformity with the structure of the “returnee novel”, the final pages of Glue have all three remaining characters once again living in Edinburgh, where they are presented as enjoying not only a degree of maturity and material wealth, but the renewed vigour of their friendship. In Glue, Europe has once again acted as an agent of change, and the casual mention of an upcoming weekend trip to Amsterdam in its closing paragraphs underscores how fully contemporary fiction has realised the geographical, if not the political, ties that bind Scotland to its continental neighbours. Scottish fiction, seemingly unconcerned by debates concerning treaties, directives, free-trade areas and super-states nevertheless stresses Europe’s relevance to the resolution of the manifold crises of the Scottish psyche. Often portrayed as a carnivalesque parenthesis, where licentiousness and intoxication are favoured and social orders inversed,15 Europe’s role is however more than that of momentary self-indulgence. Instead, it often tends to solidly reaffirm the validity of Scottish experience. In particular, the moment of return draws the newly transformed character back to his native land as he rejects flight and exile as false solutions and suggests that maturity, self-realisation or quietude accrue to those who have returned from Europe to pick up their life in Scotland. And even if the changes brought about are essentially at a human level, there are also important cultural and political ramifications. Firstly, Scottish fiction’s general enthusiasm for Europe in the early 1990s can be contrasted with the strong vein of anti-Europeanism in much public discourse, whether conveyed by a xenophobic tabloid press or by the vocal Euro-sceptic forces within the Conservative party. Since both of these can arguably be presented as English-based phenomena, the generally positive

Scotland and Europe, Scotland in Europe

137

treatment of Europe in Scottish fiction is possibly another manifestation of the cultural and political divide that was growing up between England and Scotland over the years of Conservative rule. Indeed, many contemporary Scottish writers indicate their debt towards an international, rather than a British, literary tradition, which, without discounting the importance of American authors, often reserves pride of place for Europeans such as Camus or Kafka.16 In doing so, they again strengthen the notion of Scottish culture finding, or perhaps returning to, its true place in a European cultural tradition which the union of 1707 had managed to sideline. Alasdair Gray’s fiction, in particular, picks up on the political consequences of such a notion, with one overtly pro-nationalist passage from the novel 1982 Janine famously comparing Scotland with an array of small but successful European states.17 The same European dimension to Scottish nationalism also features in Gray’s pamphlet Why Scots Should Rule Scotland 1997 which comes festooned in a series of flags representing, with the notable exception of the Saltire, over twenty small, independent states, of which around three quarters are European (only New Zealand, Jordan, Israel and the United Arab Emirates are not).18 In a similarly patriotic interpretation, novels featuring return from Europe can be seen as symbolising a break with an unsustainable emigration culture which has traditionally been portrayed as bleeding Scotland to death. Scottish fiction’s tentative explorations of the European Other may nevertheless also describe the start of a less confrontational attitude towards England, as the sterility of a binary opposition is abandoned for the multiple possibilities of dialogic relations with any number of countries spanning the continent. This, indeed, was the desire expressed by Philip Hobsbaum in a somewhat prophetic statement, written in 1990 before “Scottish-European” novels such as Morvern Callar, Rolling, Foreign Parts, Trainspotting or Glue had ever been published: The inexorable coming together of the different segments of Europe will do much to dissolve the Caledonian antisyzygy. When the Scots are less nakedly opposed to the English, it will make for a healthier situation.19

Anne-Marie Thiesse has argued how, in the 18th and 19th century, Scottish literature, through Ossian and Scott, was determinant in the development of diverse European national identities.20 The Scottish literature of the late 20th century may perhaps one day be considered indicative of how a nascent European identity slowly began to fuse, with individual countries confirming their own sense of separateness and validity, while casually subsuming their distinctive national experience in a far broader, pan-European perspective. However, the sense of encounter and otherness that characterises contemporary Scottish authors’ portrayal of Europe suggests that, no matter how closely

138

Visions of Europe in Contemporary Scottish Literature

Scottish experience is bound to it, both culturally and politically, tomorrow’s Europe will not be one of bland uniformity.21

Notes 1

David Kinloch and Richard Price (eds.), La Nouvelle Alliance, ELLUG / Université Stendhal, Grenoble, 2000. 2 “Scottish Writing in Europe”, Cencrastus, n°69, nd, p.49. 3 “I may emigrate to The Great Englishes–o jesus christ Australia & New Zealand. Or America and Canada.” James Kelman, “Not not while the giro” in Not Not While The Giro (1983), (Minerva, London, 1989), p.200. 4 Jeff Torrington, Swing Hammer Swing! (1992), (Minerva, London, 1994), p.407. 5 James Kelman, The Busconductor Hines (1984), (Everyman, London, 1985), p.203. 6 James Kelman, “A notebook to do with America” in Not Not While The Giro, p.160. 7 Edition cited: Alan Warner, Morvern Callar (1995), (Vintage, London, 1996). 8 Dominic Head, The Cambridge Introduction to Modern British Fiction 1950-2000 (Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, 2002), p.150. 9 James Meek, Drivetime (Polygon, Edinburgh, 1995), p.37. 10 Thomas Healy, Rolling (Polygon, Edinburgh, 1992), p.149. 11 Irvine Welsh, Trainspotting (1993), (Minerva, London, 1996), p.344. 12 See Irvine Welsh, “Eurotrash” in The Acid House (1994), (Vintage, London, 1995), pp.10-31. 13 Irvine Welsh, Glue (Jonathan Cape, London, 2001), p.436. 14 Irvine Welsh, Porno (Jonathan Cape, London, 2002), p.477. 15 Note the banquet scene in Glue where the four friends, still in Munich, usurp the identities of the official Edinburgh twin-town delegation. Irvine Welsh, Glue, p.263-265. 16 The European existential tradition in particular is frequently cited as a key inspiration for writers such as William McIlvanney, James Kelman or Alan Warner. See, for example, Warner’s comments: “Nausea, The Roads to Freedom trilogy and Camus’ work were awful important to me, especially Nausea and The Outsider. I think Morvern Callar is an existential novel […]” Alan Warner quoted by Zoë Strachan, “Existential Ecstasy”, www.spikemagazine.com/0300alanwarner.htm, (March 2001). See also Keith Dixon, “‘No fairies. No monsters. Just people.’: Resituating the Work of William McIlvanney” in Susanne Hagemann (ed.), Studies in Scottish Fiction: 1945 to the Present (Peter Lang, Frankfurt, 1996), p.195; Cairns Craig, “Resisting Arrest: James Kelman” in Gavin Wallace & Randall Stevenson (eds.), The Scottish Novel Since the Seventies (1993), (Edinburgh University Press, Edinburgh, 1994), p.106. 17 “Scotland’s natural resources are as variedly rich as those of any other land. Her ground area is greater than that of Denmark, Holland, Belgium or Switzerland, her population higher than that of Denmark, Norway or Finland. Our present ignorance and bad social organisation make most Scots poorer than most other north Europeans, but even bad human states are not everlasting.” Alasdair Gray, 1982 Janine (Jonathan Cape, London, 1984), p.345.

Scotland and Europe, Scotland in Europe

139

18 See the jacket illustrations of Alasdair Gray, Why Scots Should Rule Scotland 1997 (Canongate, Edinburgh, 1997). 19 Philip Hobsbaum, “Speech rather than Lallans: West of Scotland Poetry”, Lines Review, n°113, June 1990, p.10. 20 Anne-Marie Thiesse, La Création des Identités Nationales : Europe XVIIIe-XXe siècle (Seuil, Paris, 1999), pp.21-29, pp.131-137. 21 This reflects a common desire in Scotland as elsewhere in Europe: “Within the countries of the European Union there is a general recognition of the value of the diversity of European cultures and a conviction that, whatever else may be harmonised, cultural diversity must be preserved and enhanced.” Paul Henderson Scott, “Scotland in Europe”, Cencrastus, n°67, nd, p.22.

PART III VOICES IN EUROPE

SCOTTISH GAELIC: AN AGE-OLD LANGUAGE IN MODERN EUROPE JEAN BERTON, JEAN MONNET UNIVERSITY, SAINT-ETIENNE

The aim of this paper is to show how present in Scotland the age-old Gaelic language is today. In full contradiction to the reasonable prospects that were voiced some thirty to forty years ago, not only has the language failed to die but it has been deeply regenerated out of tradition and folklore. The two World Wars have shaken up Scotland, and the founding and development of the European Union have enabled Gaelic speakers to secure an accepted position for their mother tongue. British Celts, from Wales and Scotland, Irish Celts and French Celts have proved that they are quite able to adapt to modern times without having to give up their mother tongues. Their voice is not among the loudest in the European polyphony; however, it deserves to be listened to in our days of globalisation of world exchanges.

A European gestation We can read, in all history books and historical atlases about Europe, that all Celtic languages originate from a common Indo-European root language that matured and expanded within Central Europe. We know that through a period running approximately from the tenth century to the fifth century BC there was a wave of in-migration into the north-western archipelago subsequently giving it its name: the British Isles. Those people were identified as belonging to the Halstatt group (in today’s Austria) and labelled Q-Celtic speakers. Those living in Ireland were not hybridised by newcomers from La Tène (in today’s Switzerland) spreading across the island now identified as Britain and speaking another branch of Celtic identified as P-Celtic. Those P-Celtic, or Brittonic, speakers arriving in the fifth, fourth and third centuries BC eventually faced the natives of Scotland; among them were those who were later called Picts by the Latin-speaking Romans. We know most of the difficulties the Roman invaders encountered in the first century AD, in particular in that northern part which they named Caledonia,

Scotland and Europe, Scotland in Europe

143

meaning the mountain fort. When they were busy checking the forays of those Caledonian barbarians (whose language meant nothing to their understanding) a group of Gaels from the kingdom of Dalriata, in northern Ireland, gradually settled in the islands of the archipelago known as the Hebrides. Historians are certain that the settling was well under way in the fifth century — whether it had started earlier or not is of little importance in this study. Gaelic speakers first spread across the Hebrides and then went eastward on to the mainland where they came into competition with the Picts. With the victory over the Picts and the subsequent crowning of Kenneth MacAlpine, king of the Scots and Picts, in 843, the language of the Gaels rapidly expanded across Caledonia then across the whole of Scotland under King MacBeth, between 1040 and 1057. During the reign of King Malcolm III (1058 – 1093) and his English-born wife, the Gaelic language started receding. However, in this expanding English-speaking zone the language left vestiges of its presence that survived unevenly through centuries. This expansion of the Gaelic language was the result of many battles first opposing ethnic groups who were all Celtic speakers — Gaels and Picts in the north, then Gaels and Britons (or Welsh, meaning foreigners, as they were called by the English) in the south. If we choose to consider the history of the language, we can say that it was a linguistic intermixing most certainly spurred by the developing English language firstly in the south from east to west, then in the east from south to north. With the founding of the kingdoms of Bernicia and Deira, becoming Northumbria in 547, confrontations between English speakers and Celtic speakers were endless, the most spectacular of them all was the battle of Nechtansmere on 20 May 6851 when Ecfrith, King of Northumbria, was defeated by the king of the Picts and his allies. Gaelic and Scottish English went on cohabiting under common kings until the reformation reached Scotland. Under Queen Mary’s unhappy reign, and King James VI’s hectic days, the Gaelic language gradually became an alien to the rulers, even more so after King James’s departure to London. Together with the powerful clan system and the independent culture of the north, the Gaelic language became an obstacle to the making up of Great Britain as fancied by King James VI & I. After the Reformation was firmly settled in the Lowlands, it became a powerful incentive not only to convert the Roman Catholic Gaels but also to do away with Erse, or Irish, as the language was still called. For generations before the Bible was translated into Gaelic, the most common excuse for converting Gaelic speakers to Presbyterianism was that God spoke no Gaelic, and that His language was English. Such insidious arguments, however ludicrous they may seem to us today, went far and deep into the collective unconscious of the Gaels because they brewed a strong sense of guilt that involved the use of Gaelic.2

144

Scottish Gaelic: An Age-Old Language in Modern Europe

The Jacobite risings and the final defeat on Culloden Moor in 1746, put an end to the clan system and led to an official ban on the Gaelic language. The Highland Clearances—which are still felt as a historic trauma in many places— occurring with the support of anti-Catholic missionaries increased the power of the English language in Gaelic-speaking areas: the poems of Mary MacPherson (Màiri nan Oran) by the end of the nineteenth century are a strong reminder of those events. The weak point, politically speaking, of Scottish Gaelic was its fragmentation into a countless number of dialects somehow isolating their speakers. If we take France as a reference, we know that the French language was being unified as early as the seventeenth century with the publication of best-selling grammar books. As far as Scottish Gaelic is concerned, the first grammar books were published in the nineteenth century and the language underwent a major unifying process in the 1980s. The Kailyard movement, at the end of the nineteenth century, obviously concentrating on the bonnie-briar-bush-in-the-kailyard can be seen either as an agony preceding death or as a mustering of forces before regeneration. In those days, a fair number of clubs were founded across the British Empire with a view to saving the Gaelic language and the culture that underlies it. Nostalgia comforted preservation in far-away lands not knowing at the turn of the twentieth century that Gaelic would be kept going until today.

Scottish Renaissance We know that World War I is the prime cause of the undoing of the British Empire. The faithful support of the colonies had to be paid for with granting them their autonomy. Now, Scotland had dutifully played its part, and responding to King George V’s call had provided a large number of soldiers. Among the regions of Scotland, the Hebrides had proportionally sent the largest number of volunteers and suffered the worst rate of casualties. And on top of all that there occurred the accidental sinking of the ferry, on New Year’s Eve of 1919, as related in Anne Macleod’s novel, The Dark Ship.3 The tragic events of the Great War sparked off a series of whys and whatfors in Gaeldom (Gàidhealtachd). Among those questions and the reactions from the countries closely related to the United Kingdom, there grew the will to salvage the Gaelic language from a looming danger of extinction. This also coincided with the birth of linguistics, and the gradual awareness that Europe was rich with declining age-old languages facing a fateful competition from official languages such as English. The impending deaths of those languages meant a great loss to the next generations, and this led to a worldwide awakening. As far as Gaeldom is concerned, schoolchildren were forced to learn a foreign language, English, and the behaviour of schoolmasters and

Scotland and Europe, Scotland in Europe

145

schoolmistresses was generally felt rather aggressive, however supportive parents actually were. Whatever the educational gains through the medium of the English language, the former pupils whose mother tongue was Gaelic could not help bearing a grudge to their force-feeders. A World War later, the number of Gaelic speakers had decreased further and now extinction could be foreseen. To the Gaelic speakers who would not accept the inevitable imagined possible ways of rescuing the language, it became obvious that the language needed updating and that the range of topics should no longer be restricted to domestic affairs. Sorley Maclean’s poetry had opened to continental Europe subjects, such as the Spanish civil war, and to other world affairs. Maclean and other writers publishing poetry and fiction were soon opposed to traditionalists who intended to protect the Gaelic language from foreign influence. This ‘civil war’ between reformers and traditionalists went on into the 1980s. By the time the opposition subsided, the reformers had managed to gain the support of institutions, such as the Gaelic Books Council and the Scottish Arts Council, to modernise the language. Foreigners visiting Scotland in the 1970s could sense a rather ambiguous attitude towards Scottish Gaelic outside Gaeldom. It seemed that mentioning Scottish Gaelic was irrelevant—and the most common reason was that the language was dying. Yet, there was a general feeling of uneasiness towards what people called the heart of Scotland. Through the 1980s the politicallycorrect trend boosted some sort of national ‘Gaelic attitude’. One should not be over-surprised to witness the resurgence of ‘Pictishness’ in political debates: the movement may not last, time will tell. Throughout the second half of the twentieth century, we could observe an alliance developing between Gaelic speakers and Scots speakers. Reason called for a mutual support against the threatening expansion of English English at the expense of Scottish English—or Inglis, as it was called in the Middle Ages. By the end of the twentieth century, the supporters of the English language started expressing their concern about the evolution of standard English now facing not only the expansion of American English and Mid-Atlantic English but also the revival of Anglo-Saxon dialects such as (East)-Anglian or Cumbrian, competing with new comers, such as Afro-English and Asian-English.4 In this nation-wide reaction against standard English within the British Isles in the 1960s and 1970s that was, in places, expressed as an open rejection of Saxonness—and Yorkshire people were not the least outspoken—the low numbers of the speakers of those languages and dialects was a constant counterargument. Lesser-used languages challenging national languages was a European phenomenon, and it was by no means restricted to the British Isles. As far as Scottish Gaelic was concerned, official numbers usually produced in the national censuses were regularly discussed if not disputed. In the 1970s, the

146

Scottish Gaelic: An Age-Old Language in Modern Europe

official number was approximately 85,000. (The figures produced by the census of 2001 will be discussed in the last part of this paper.) However, enormous variations have to be taken into account as for the ability of the speaker to speak, read, and write the language. What sociologists agree upon is the higher level of literacy among Gaelic speakers caused by the spread of Gaelic classes in primary and secondary schools. Children are being encouraged by their parents to learn Gaelic, and many parents and young adults in their late twenties and thirties are attending evening classes, or summer classes, to support their children’s efforts more efficiently. Many Scottish people attending television or radio Gaelic programmes will never become a hundred percent bilingual, nor do they mean to be; nevertheless, they create a favourable environment for the language to develop. The decennial national census gives an overview of the state of the Gaelic language and some indication of the changes that need to be analysed further. The global figure from the 2001 census is after all generating optimism as the abilities of the speakers in handling the language have improved significantly. Other data—which are not available yet—have to be included in the survey, for Scottish Gaelic is spoken overseas, in Northern America, Argentina, NewZealand, and Australia. In such far-away places, the status of the Gaelic language is less assured than in Scotland, yet it is learned in some most unexpected towns, one of them being Seattle!

Regeneration With the growing desire of reviving the Gaelic language after World War II, the “what-for” question was asked repeatedly, as it made little sense to bring back to life a dying language that would be used by a reduced group of speakers whereas the English language had become an international means of communication. The arguments against the revival of Scottish Gaelic were powerful, yet the gap between a business language and a mother tongue could not be bridged; no more than reason can long supersede emotion. In the 1970s and 1980s there were a profusion of published papers and pamphlets discussing why Scottish Gaelic should be taught and spoken5. The case of Belgium with its two national languages and that of Switzerland with its three national languages were a strong point—neither country was any the weaker for its bilingual or trilingual status. Such comparisons with European countries fuelled the national debate. The revival of Irish Gaelic served as both a booster and a foil because the rebirth of Irish Gaelic could not prove to be a blatant success. Yet, the Irish case showed that a country with a comparable number of citizens could prosper within the European Union with three

Scotland and Europe, Scotland in Europe

147

languages in use: standard English, Irish English (Ulster Scots being one dialect), and Irish Gaelic. Gaelic-speaking Scotsmen found support in bilingual Wales—where the Welsh language had remained a strong element of Welsh identity—and their neighbouring country from the south-west, Ireland with two official languages and a third group of vernacular dialects. They could also find some backing from their neighbouring country from the north-east, i.e. Norway. The history of the Norwegian language is also telling—the taking-over by the Danish language in the fifteenth century until it became the official language in the sixteenth century; then the competition between Dano-Norwegian, or Bokmal, and NewNorwegian, or Nynorsk in the nineteenth century; and the various reforms in the twentieth century... The recurrent language crises in Norway have been of a different nature from those developing in Scotland, yet this country with a population comparable to that of Scotland faces no definite danger from such internal competition. As far as Scottish Gaelic is concerned, a reference to the language of the Norsemen is never irrelevant since Norse greatly influenced Gaelic throughout the long period of the Lordship of the Isles, from the Viking invasions to the end of Norwegian rule in 1266. Long before Britain joined the European Union, when it was still called EEC, Scotland had developed linguistic links with European languages. Scottish Gaelic was naturally fragmented because of the geography of western Scotland. Each island in the Hebrides as well as each glen in the Highlands caused the language to develop separately over the generations and to become politically weakened when faced with the taking-over by the Scottish and English languages following the battle of Culloden in the eighteenth century. Had the Gaelic language been allowed to develop with no drastic reductions of speakers in places, the situation would certainly have been different today, that is to say Scottish Gaelic could still afford to offer a variety of dialects, even though this is pure speculation. In 1976, the Secretary of State for Scotland invited linguists to set up a commission with a view to modernising the language. By the end of 1978, the commission put forward a set of recommendations which were then discussed and eventually approved by the Gaelic societies of Scotland. The Department of Education then published6 the newly established norms—most of them concerning spelling rules—for the benefit of students taking national examinations. The rules were officially applied in 1985, and together with teachers and lecturers, writers and publishers acknowledged the agreement. No attempt, however, was made to establish any sort of standard pronunciation. The reason need not be explained, yet the consequence was that dictionaries would not produce a phonetic transcription for every word using the International Phonetic Alphabet; we can find pronunciation guides in some dictionaries,

148

Scottish Gaelic: An Age-Old Language in Modern Europe

though, but because they are so imprecise they are of very little help to foreign students of the language. In order to reverse the trend, students of Gaelic were not forbidden to use English words—making up for unknown words—in Gaelic sentences. This kind of “Gaelglish” was nicknamed “half-way Gaelic”. In order to check the likely creolisation of Scottish Gaelic, linguists set to the task of renovating the vocabulary. Either loanwords changed spellings so as to adapt to the new rules (bicycle being re-written ‘bàidhseagal’ with no modification in the pronunciation) or the meanings of words were extended to take in neologisms. When looking back over the last twenty-five years, one must acknowledge the momentous renovation of the language that can now be used in every lexical field7. That, for instance, includes administration, finance and politics, for the new Parliament in Edinburgh has used the Gaelic language alongside with the English language since the opening ceremony. Professor Derick Thomson of the University of Glasgow’s Department of Celtic Studies produced a new Gaelic-English dictionary in 1981, thus making the recent changes official. In the 1970s and 1980s about a dozen dictionaries were published to help learners who had to rely on Edward Dwelly’s most valuable dictionary that had been published in 1911 and regularly reprinted ever since. This dictionary has been outdated by Colin Mark’s 15,000-word The Gaelic-English Dictionary,8 published in 2004. The Skye-based centre for learning, Sàbhal Mòr Ostaig, has been instrumental in modernising the language. It was founded in 1978 with the specific mission of developing the Scottish Gaelic language, literature and music. The centre has expanded and it continuously welcomes students both on academic syllabuses and on learners’ programmes. It is nationally regarded as a reference centre and, for years, it has been working on a word data-base whose output has been continuous. In the 1990s preparations were made for the establishment of a larger centre for learning in the Highlands. This is why the University of Highlands and Islands Millenium Project was launched. This new university joined the competition with the older universities in Aberdeen, Stirling, Dundee, etc. However, the organisation of the university was thought out on a different basis, for it had to adapt to the geography of the north of Scotland. It can best be compared with the university of Wales, the various colleges being scattered across the whole region — Inverness, Skye (Sàbhal Mòr Ostaig), Stornoway, Kirkwall, Lerwick. All the several parts are permanently in contact thanks to the use of Internet connections. Each college offers a specific teaching linked to research associated with local needs, and as far as Gaelic is concerned, the colleges in Skye and Stornoway can keep up with demand. Other older and

Scotland and Europe, Scotland in Europe

149

larger universities—Aberdeen, Glasgow, Edinburgh—also run Celtic Departments offering high standard tuition and research. Literary output has never ceased since the Middle Ages. When the diaspora of Gaelic speakers started in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, thus spreading the Gaelic language across the Empire—London included— many associations and societies9 were created to support emigrants’ needs to maintain their native culture. In the twentieth century the Scottish Arts Council was founded in Scotland to help writers, among others, in any of the three languages. Poetry in Gaelic has always been strong; drama in Gaelic has developed rather recently gaining gradual freedom from censure; fiction has evolved over the last fifty years from a tradition-centred concern to a modern approach to literature. Traditional tales, for instance, have given way to short stories, and quite recently to novels. We can find here a perfect example of the fact that publishing fiction is closely linked with the numbers of readers. Institutions, like the Gaelic Books Council, have helped finance both writers and publishers for the production of fiction in the Gaelic language. With the growing number of newly educated readers in Scotland and abroad, it is hoped that the cost-profit ratio will gradually reach some balance. Gaelic literature is now an accepted phrase and has become a branch of Scottish literature10. Whenever necessary, we can specify, about Scottish literature, that it is in the Gaelic language, the Scots language or the English language. More generally, Scottish literature11 has implied the use of the three languages ever since Walter Scott wrote his Scottish historical novels — whether he created a trend is debatable. In Rob Roy, for example, he makes some of his characters use the Scots language spontaneously whereas the narrator uses standard English; what’s more he relishes handling words with special meanings in Scots and Gaelic, e.g. the Glaswegian character’s name, Jarvie, both means a hackney coachman and corresponds to the Gaelic ‘dearbhaidh’ meaning conviction, test, proof, or vindication, which are special qualities adapted to the character. More recent novels, such as Ghostwriting12, by John Herdman, or The Dark Ship, by Anne Macleod, freely make use of Gaelic words and phrases in the narratives in the English language. The most remarkable achievement about the recent past in the history of Scottish Gaelic remains the rapidity of its renovation. The most readily accessible symptomatic element in what optimists call the recovery of the language and all that flows with it is the literary and artistic output. It bears the stamp of renewed self-confidence. A lot of energy has been spent on acknowledging and assessing the past13 because the future shares the value of the present. The Scottish Gaels are quite conscious that whatever has been done so far could be achieved with the help of both Scottish and British institutions and the impetus of the European Union.

150

Scottish Gaelic: An Age-Old Language in Modern Europe

From international support to national acknowledgement In order to adapt this complex and densely documented process to the present study we will mention three of the main stages: the Universal Declaration on Linguistic Rights of 1996, the Census of 2001, and the Gaelic Language (Scotland) Act of 2005. The preliminaries to the Universal Declaration on Linguistic Rights, that concluded the World Conference on Linguistic Rights held in Barcelona on 9 June 1996, fully justify the need to protect endangered languages of the world, and this also applies to Europe. To Scottish Gaelic speakers the Declaration was a real encouragement for improvement. Article 1.1 clearly asserts the right for Gaelic speakers to exist in Gaeldom, their “particular territorial space”: 1. This Declaration considers as a language community any human society established historically in a particular territorial space, whether this space be recognized or not, which identifies itself as a people and has developed a common language as a natural means of communication and cultural cohesion among its members. The term language proper to a territory refers to the language of the community historically established in such a space.

Paragraphs numbered 2, 3 and 4 fully justify the use of the concept of Gaeldom. And paragraph 5 extends it to Gaelic speakers living outside Scottish Gaeldom. This clearly refers to those areas in the Maritime Provinces of Canada and other areas in the former British Empire where Gaelic speakers settled in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries: 2. This Declaration takes as its point of departure the principle that linguistic rights are individual and collective at one and the same time. In defining the full range of linguistic rights, it adopts as its referent the case of a historical language community within its own territorial space, this space being understood, not only as the geographical area where the community lives, but also as the social and functional space vital to the full development of the language. Only on this basis is it possible to define the rights of the language groups mentioned in point 5 of the present article, and those of individuals living outside the territory of their community, in terms of a gradation or continuum. 3. For the purpose of this Declaration, groups are also deemed to be in their own territory and to belong to a language community in the following circumstances: i. when they are separated from the main body of their community by political or administrative boundaries; ii. when they have been historically established in a small geographical area surrounded by members of other language communities; or iii. when they are established in a geographical area which they share with the members of other language communities with similar historical antecedents.

Scotland and Europe, Scotland in Europe

151

4. This Declaration also considers nomad peoples within their areas of migration and peoples established in geographically dispersed locations as language communities in their own historical territory. 5. This Declaration considers as a language group any group of persons sharing the same language which is established in the territorial space of another language community but which does not possess historical antecedents equivalent to those of that community. Examples of such groups are immigrants, refugees, deported persons and members of diasporas.

When viewed from a distance, “overseas Gaeldom” operates as a mise en abyme of Scottish Gaeldom, thus granting it a stronger sense of existence within Europe. Mutatis mutandis, through its extension across lands overseas, Scottish Gaelic presence in the British Isles is as real as that of the English language(s). Article 7 offers interesting statements. Paragraph 1 reads: “All languages are the expression of a collective identity and of a distinct way of perceiving and describing reality and must therefore be able to enjoy the conditions required for their development in all functions.” The notion of collective identity equates a necessary mutual acknowledgement between Gaelic speakers, Scots speakers and English speakers. Such an attitude, in the twentieth century, is made all the more easily acceptable since all Gaelic speakers and Scots speakers can and do use the English language. The main difficulty remains with people who can speak English only, as all languages being “the expression […] of a distinct way of perceiving and describing reality” this differing perception of reality cannot be spontaneously accessed. The perception of reality by Gaelic speakers being acknowledged as a particular cognition of the world and life, globally speaking, the preservation of Scottish Gaelic stands as a priority for Europeans. In the same article, paragraph 2 calls for a debate on the notion of cohesion: “All languages are collectively constituted and are made available within a community for individual use as tools of cohesion, identification, communication and creative expression.” The clan system in Scotland was dismantled in the eighteenth century and there is no claim to resuscitate it. The vast majority of Gaelic speakers declare to be Scottish, before being British and European. And Scotland is in no danger of being split into two or more nations, whatever fleeting dreams can be enjoyed by secessionist Picts... The General Register Office for Scotland published, in October 2005, the data collected in the decennial census of 2001: Scotland’s Census 2001 – Gaelic Report.14 In the summary, p. 11, art. 7.1 we read this global estimate: “92,400 people aged 3 and over had some Gaelic language ability in 2001.” The figure is commented on page 15 (Commentary, section 1: art. 14): “[...] 1.9 per cent of the 4.9 million residents of Scotland aged three and over had some Gaelic language ability in that they could speak, read, write or understand spoken

152

Scottish Gaelic: An Age-Old Language in Modern Europe

Gaelic.” The percentage, below 2%, of the population is about the same as it was some thirty years ago. However, in article 17, we read: “The number of people who could speak, read and write Gaelic rose by 6 per cent between 1991 and 2001, from 29,450 to 31,200.” This ability in handling the language in its oral and written forms is significantly on the increase. It corresponds to the estimate given in article 25 (page 16) indicating some sort of strengthening of the language practice in Gaeldom: “A total of 22 council areas showed an increase in the number of people able to speak, read or write Gaelic since 1991 [...]” The collected figures can fuel optimism with Gaelic supporters, yet linguists are cautious about the capacity for the language to live on permanently. Denigrating Scottish Gaelic is still frequent, especially in the Lowlands, and proper arguments when it comes to discussing the cost of maintaining the language need to be convincing. In their 1993 report The Economics of Gaelic Language Development, and in their 1998 report, The Demand for Gaelic Artistic and Cultural Products and Services : Patterns and Impacts, Dr Alan Sproull & Dr Douglas Chalmers, of Glasgow Caledonian University, demonstrated that the more widely used Gaelic language in economic areas caused the level of confidence to raise most notably, which consequently improved production and definitely reduced out-migration. And in Scotland’s Census 2001 – Gaelic Report, on page 28, article 123, we find a rather predictable statement: “People with some Gaelic knowledge had on average a higher level of qualification than Scottish people generally [...]” Sanguine comments on this observation could prove to be too hasty and they will certainly be more appropriate in the 2021 census. However, they are likely to challenge the trendy view among opponents of the Gaelic language, at the turn of the twentieth century, that Gaelic speakers were intellectually under-developed. The Census 2001 returns were rather unexpectedly positive with Gaelic speakers who had received a much hoped for decision from the Parliament of Scotland in April 2005: the “Gaelic Language (Scotland) Bill”, which as indicated in the last article “[...] may be cited as the Gaelic Language (Scotland) Act 2005.” This act of Parliament is summed up in the introduction: An Act of the Scottish Parliament to establish a body having functions exercisable with a view to securing the status of the Gaelic language as an official language of Scotland commanding equal respect to the English language, including the functions of preparing a national Gaelic language plan, of requiring certain public authorities to prepare and publish Gaelic language plans in connection with the exercise of their functions and to maintain and implement such plans, and of issuing guidance in relation to Gaelic education.

Scotland and Europe, Scotland in Europe

153

This act enables Gaelic speakers to take positive action through the use of the officially established “Bòrd na Gàidhlig”. Constitution and functions of Bòrd na Gàidhlig (1) There is established a body corporate to be known as Bòrd na Gàidhlig (in this Act referred to as ‘the Bòrd’). The Bòrd has the general functions of— (a) promoting, and facilitating the promotion of— - the use and understanding of the Gaelic language, and - Gaelic education and Gaelic culture, (b) advising (either on request or when it thinks fit) the Scottish Ministers, public bodies and other persons exercising functions of a public nature on matters relating to the Gaelic language, Gaelic education and Gaelic culture, (c) advising (on request) other persons on matters relating to the Gaelic language, Gaelic education and Gaelic culture, (d) monitoring, and reporting to the Scottish Ministers on the implementation of the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages dated 5 November 1992 in relation to the Gaelic language.

The last paragraph in this section clearly shows that the Parliament of Scotland has been operating, within the space of devolved matters, according to the recommendations of the EU Commission Conference on Education and Regional and Minority Languages. Article 3 expresses the following statements: (1) The functions conferred on the Bòrd by this Act are to be exercised with a view to securing the status of the Gaelic language as an official language of Scotland commanding equal respect to the English language through— - increasing the number of persons who are able to use and understand the Gaelic language, - encouraging the use and understanding of the Gaelic language, and - facilitating access, in Scotland and elsewhere, to the Gaelic language and Gaelic culture.

We can say that this article will initiate a questioning of the notion of Gaeldom, meaning the area where the Gaelic language is spoken. For generations the region of greater Glasgow has been part of Gaeldom, even though it is outside the Highlands & Hebrides. Since the opening of the Parliament, this political quarter of Edinburgh has become part of Gaeldom because the Gaelic language has been officially used everyday by a group of politicians and officials. Nevertheless, this Gaelic Language Act leads to a virtual dissolution of Gaeldom, if viewed as a more or less defined section of Scotland. Although bilingualism will not be compulsory in Scotland, the officially acknowledged use of Scottish Gaelic, alongside with Scots and English, will be a recognizable brand of this stateless nation within Britain. Whenever visiting European towns

154

Scottish Gaelic: An Age-Old Language in Modern Europe

for international matches, an incredible proportion of football supporters of Scottish teams have enjoyed sporting kilts over the last twenty years or so, even though they never wear kilts at home. We can now expect some Scottish tourists to casually advertise for Scottish Gaelic around European regions, after some deliberate actions taken during the 1998 Football World Cup when Lewis supporters of the Scottish national team spent a full week visiting schools and associations to inform their French guests about their native tongue. Since Britain joined the European Economic Community in 1973, before it became the European Union, Scotland has tried to make the best out of the links; and “Gaelic Scotland”, with its various societies and associations15, together with “Scots Scotland” have relished the development of EBLUL, “The European Bureau for Lesser-Used Languages, a democratically governed NonGovernmental Organisation promoting languages and linguistic diversity.” As EBLUL’s function is to link linguistic communities and local and regional authorities in the member states of the European Union, it has enabled Gaeldom to improve its language. Together with linguistic promotions within the European Union, we must keep in mind a number of other links operating within Europe. The West of Scotland European Consortium (WoSEC) was set up in 1996 to develop “positive links between the communities of the region and the institutions of the European Union.” More ambitious than those special links between Scottish regions and the European Commission is the Atlantic Arc linking all the western regions from Scotland down to Gibraltar (not included). All the literature promoting the Atlantic Arc can be summed up in a few words: encouraging inter-regional co-operation. When studying the full list of the regions of the Atlantic Arc, one sees that all the Celtic-speaking areas are involved: Galicia, Brittany, Ireland, Cornwall, Wales, and the Highlands and the Western Isles. Among those regions, co-operation is not restricted to economic actions but it also involves mutual cultural support, such as we can see every summer in Lorient where the promotion of Atlantic tourism products is closely linked with a sense of improving upon identity.

Notes 1

Melvyn Bragg’s historical novel Credo, (London: Hodder & Stoughton, 1996) whose narrative takes place during the seventh century, underlines the paramount role of the Irish Christian Church in the north of Britain.

Scotland and Europe, Scotland in Europe

2

155

About the decline of Scottish Gaelic, we can read V.E. Durkacz’s The Decline of the Celtic Languages, (Edinburgh: John Donald, 1983). 3 Anne Macleod. The Dark Ship. (Glasgow: 11/9, 2001). 4 See: W.B. Lockwood. Languages of the British Isles Past and Present, (London: André Deutsch Ltd, 1975). 5 Dr Kenneth MacKinnon who taught sociology at Hatfield Polytechnic regularly published studies on the evolution of Scottish Gaelic, such as Gaelic in Scotland, 1971 (Hatfield: Hatfield Polytechnic, 1978). In 1974, he published a much appreciated study titled The Lion’s Tongue (Inverness: Club Leobhar, 1974). 6 Gaelic Orthographic Conventions, (Dalkeith: Scottish Certificate of Education Board, 1981). 7 John M. Paterson produced a booklet introducing some 2000 new Gaelic words. Its title is The Gaels have a word for it! (Glasgow: The Gaelic League of Scotland, 1964). 8 Colin Mark. The Gaelic-English Dictionary. (London: Routledge, 2004.) 9 The Gaelic Society of London was founded in 1777 and An Comunn Gaidhealach, in 1891; The Gaelic Society of Inverness was founded in 1871 and has published its Transactions regularly; The Scottish Gaelic Texts Society was founded in 1934. 10 Professor William Gillies edited a collection of essays: Gaelic and Scotland, Alba agus a’ Ghàidhlig (Edinburgh: EUP, 1989). 11 Among all the associations in literary studies of Scotland, we can safely refer to ASLS (Association for Scottish Literary Studies) hosted in the University of Glasgow. 12 John Herdman. Ghostwriting. Edinburgh : Polygon, 1996. 13 Even though it is now obsolete, Donald John Macleod’s Twentieth Century Publications in Scottish Gaelic (Edinburgh: Scottish Academy Press, 1980) is a landmark in the efforts that were made to assess past publications meaning to encourage further publications. 14 Edinburgh: Registrar General for Scotland, 10 October 2005. 15 Those associations also aimed at explaining the nature of Scottish Gaelic. On the topic, one can read Malcolm Chapman’s The Gaelic Vision in Scottish Culture (London: Croom Helm Ltd, 1979).

HISTORY PAINTING1 AND ROMAN CELTIC HERITAGE: ALAN ROBB, KEN CURRIE, AND THEIR PREDECESSORS DANIELE BERTON-CHARRIERE, JEAN MONNET UNIVERSITY, SAINT-ETIENNE

History painting is known to have been institutionalized2 and favoured in Britain by George III and his successors because, like—and as—a showcase, it could help exhibit the power of the nation and its ruling monarch within and without the confines of the country itself. Besides, it permitted the creation and promotion of a British artistic school—often wrongly said to be English3— inspired by continental preexisting Italian, Flemish and French models… History painting can be regarded as one of the components of a chosen political unionist patriotic process which used to be—and still is—perceived as both national and international4. Nevertheless, as Jacques Carré and Pierre Dubois wrote: artistic nationalism could take very different forms. For those who approved of classical art theory, with its concern for representing timeless human nature, being patriotic could not mean concentrating on specific British subjects. It could only mean rivalling other nations in such prestigious genres as history-painting and imitating the continental "grand manner"[5]. By contrast, for those artists aware of the aesthetic implications of the new psychology of Locke and Hartley, and eager to express individual experience and identity, patriotism meant something very different. Their native land, its manners, its history, even its arts (as the Gothic revival shows), were now felt to be major sources of inspiration. But whether they competed with other nations or saw themselves as innovators, British artists in the period surveyed certainly found stimulation in their growing national pride. […] But it was events outside the world of art which finally clinched the association between art and national identity in the 1770s. The shock of the American Revolution, soon followed by that, even more threatening, of the French Revolution, made the majority of British people rally round patriotic values [.] […]

Scotland and Europe, Scotland in Europe

157

Britishness was both a subject and an attitude, which allowed them boldly to overcome the tensions between the two ideals of "high" art and the art of the "here and now".6

Defining the place of the Scottish artists—whether taken independently or as members of the Scottish School(s)—within this unionist propagandist structure based on national identity has always been complex because the pattern seems to have been ambiguous and subjected to differing viewpoints for years as Holger Hoock wrote in The King's Artists; The Royal Academy of Arts and the Politics of British Culture 1760-1840: The members [a group of Edinburgh artists, the founders of an exhibition society] proclaimed themselves associated 'for the liberal and patriotic purpose of endeavouring to lay the foundation of a National School of Arts' —ambiguous rhetoric that might denote or diverge from, a unionist agenda." […] By 1812, the Scots Magazine was still sceptical whether a distinct artistic school could be identified 'apart from that of the empire generally' but pride in Scots artists' contributions to the British School at home, in London, and across the Atlantic was growing. […] By the end of this short period of Edinburgh exhibitions, artistic distinctiveness became the dominant critical theme: Scottish artists may not yet have been able to develop fully 'their native tendency' and 'native particularities'.

One can suggest that economic and political motives—as those related to patronage for example—may have screened other ideological and personal realities (this hypothesis is not bound to a specific time slot since the same arguments may still apply today): In the half-century after the American War, there would emerge in Great Britain a far more consciously and officially constructed patriotism which stressed attachment to the monarchy, the importance of empire, the value of military and naval achievement, and the desirability of strong, stable government by a virtuous, able and authentically British élite". And of course the members of this élite, who after all remained the most important patrons for many artists, did not fail to encourage those painters and designers who liked to treat suitably patriotic subjects.7

At a time when history painting was flourishing, what may also have blurred the Scottish artists' "regionalist"8 self-assertive position was the mainstream classic tendency overwhelming and fuelling the arts in general. These Greek and Roman universal and unifying references tended to erase any "regional" longing, if any existed. Yet, as Holger Hoock puts it: "The case of Scottish art is perhaps more complex" some artists and masters being "Scots

158

History Painting and Roman Celtic Heritage: Alan Robb, Ken Currie, and their Predecessors

schooled in academic theory and painters of history or in the history tradition. Their curriculum was dominated by the classical orientation they had adopted in Rome […]".9. Turning towards a wider "European" stream engulfing the national wing both protecting and shading them may have freed them from embarrassing pangs of conscience deriving from their supporting, at the same time, the development of a distinct and fairly independent Scottish School and the supremacy and "guardianship" of the Royal Academy of Arts: "Scottish artists (and Irish artists too) looked to the RA as a model and organizational resource for local restructuring projects."10 Within this largely "globalizing" frame "celebrating the essential virtues of Britain"11, whatever the period and the genre, it may be interesting to look for signs of Scottishness and to analyse the room left to the particularities of a specific local "regional" or "provincial" culture, leaving aside what may be regarded as exotic attention-grabbing items such as folkloric tartan gear and dress or well-known "picturesque" or typical town, sea, or landscapes for example. In an attempt at solving what may appear paradoxical, Alan Robb associates the general and the particular, the classic continental influences and the home-fed surviving or revived roots in what he calls "Roman Celtic Heritage"12. He both dutifully and ironically asserts himself as one of the links in the long chain and, to my mind, his painting entitled I Live Now13 renders his ideological position. I Live Now is an almost square oil on canvas; it is 1m86 x 1m90. The architecture underlying its composition seems to rely on linearity. Its design was surely meant to look academic as a reminder of Neo-classicism. Its imposing head-on-view juxtaposition of two large flat rectangular areas is eye-catching: one represents a canvas, inserted in the background, and the other comprises the wooden floor bordered by a well-defined plinth in the foreground. The whole layout emphasizes a certain horizontality which the triangular verticality of both the folding and studio easels tends to break. The standing full-size painter, in modern dress, is holding a miniature model building in his hands. His figure seems to reproduce the triangular form—creating some chevron-shaped outlines—of the two supports flanking him. The artist's geometric choice renders an impression of stability and it also allows him to play with perspective since the viewer is also given to see a very small canvas in the left-hand corner: its anamorphic position reduces the general frontal flatness and establishes other lines. Obviously, the various embedded works of art are meaningful encoded signs which the observer is supposed or even asked to decode. For example, the painting which is in the background is a replica of Nicolas Poussin's artpiece

Scotland and Europe, Scotland in Europe

159

entitled The Body of Phocion being carried out of Athens14. The peaceful landscape15 represents the Greek capital and its surroundings. Alan Robb's reference to the father of French academic classicism to whom he pays a tribute, also praises virtuous mythical Phocion: he thus plays on the grandeur and decadence—the rise and fall—of the metonymic and symbolical city and hero, which is a current didactic device in history painting. In a series of "echoing" visual memories, one replica calling for another, Alan Robb is also showing three-dimensional modello of Andrea Palladio's16 Rotonda17 which is reproduced twice since a computerized (pixellized) version pictures the building on the small canvas on the left hand-side. Through demultiplication, this image—artwork—in its turn, calls the parliamentary capital of Scotland to the observers' minds since Palladio, the Italian architect and mathematician of the 16th century is said to have been influential18 even in the project of the restoration of Edinburgh city center. In an article on the subject, the gallery owner Richard Demarco19 declares: The genius of Palladio influenced the ways in which Scottish architects learned the rules required to build Edinburgh’s new Town. Scottish painters of the calibre of Alexander Naysmith, Allan Ramsay and Henry Raeburn all benefited from their preparedness to pay homage to Italian Renaissance.20

Since Palladio himself is known to have been inspired by famous Greek monuments too, we are tempted to reckon that the loop is looped and that Robb's mise en abyme recalls and acknowledges France, Italy and Greece as artistic cradles. Dundee Professor Robb's autoportrait amplifies the encounter of spaciotemporal markers: thanks to visual illusionist devices, the artist's figure superimposes the lay figure, a Palladian-like artefact, and Poussin's landscape, one fitting into the other as interlocking constituants. I Live Now was on show at the 1999 Venice biennale. It is a typical exemplum of history painting revisited by one of our contemporaries21. It was obviously meant to convey a political meaning as Richard Demarco in the aforementioned article asserts: The main problem was that Scotland’s cultural identity was not made clear within the predominantly English character of the exhibition programme of the British Pavilion ; the second problem was that Scotland’s 20th century artists were not encouraged to live and work in Italy in the ways in which they were prepared to go to France in the twenties, thirties and fifties. This means that whereas the French « Belle Peinture » was perfectly acceptable as a means of expressing the Scottishness of Scottish art, there was, however, no interest in the Italian modernist movements expressed in Futurism and in the post World War

160

History Painting and Roman Celtic Heritage: Alan Robb, Ken Currie, and their Predecessors Two period which produced significant movements known as New Realism and Arte Povera.

The mise en abyme Alan Robb offers the viewers can be regarded as some sort of artistic metadiscourse and yet, it definitely is an authentic political assessment from the painter as well. Inscribing his autoportrait works as a double signature (autograph) and this current artistic device can also be found in Ken Currie's panels painted on commission for the People’s Palace in Glasgow22. Although their aims and styles are different, the two Scottish painters refer and/or allude to myths, symbols, allegories, emblems and historical events. Now Glaswegian Ken Currie's monumental work is made of eight oils on canvas which alternate in size between 7 feet 2 inches by 12 and a half feet, and 7 feet 2 inches by 8 feet 3 inches making it a 7 feet by 82 feet mural-like composition. Among many others, the influence of Diego Rivera and of his wife Frida Kahlo (for example her Self-Portrait dedicated to Leon Trotsky) seems obvious. Currie refers to classical sources but also to Mexican communist Rivera as well as to Fernand Léger23. Currie also includes books such as Ian McDougall's A Pictorial History of Labour in Scotland and 'Gwynn William's introductory essay to John Gorman's colourful book Banner Bright'24 in the corpus that fuelled his imagination and creation. A detailed analysis of these eight panels which are crammed with information is impossible within the confines of this paper. Nevertheless we can try to sketch a synthetic study attempting to render part of their content. Ken Currie wished his work to be viewed as a series chronicling historical events and he decided upon an unfurling banner25 as a supporting concept. The politically connotated cloth along with other various flags, banners, pennons, standards, guidons, pinsels…and tartan material either create or emphasize the powerful dynamics and symbols of the strongly encoded painting. The octogonal shape of the hall where the panels are hanging imposed well-thought efficient links as in cartoon-drawing. As a whole, they report the struggle of the Scottish Working Class throughout time: The circular, or more precisely, octogonal, shape of the site suggested the idea of the sequence beginning and ending in the same panel. In this panel, I wanted to link past, present and future into one image. I imagined a group of young Scots examining labour movement artefacts, drawn from the People's Palace collection. A figure, representing history and knowledge, has unfurled some old tattered and torn banner from the collection. […] I wanted history to be seen metaphorically, as a huge unfurling banner, with each mural panel compositionally founded on an overall flowing movement. The banner 'unfurls' through each panel until returning to its origin, where history is seen to be

Scotland and Europe, Scotland in Europe

161

continually unfurling. What remains rolled up in the banner represents the future and the responsability of young Scots in using the power gained through a knowledge and understanding of their past to realize their future.26

In the first of the eight panels, just above the focal point, the banner indicates the incentive motive of the riots. It looks like a silent cinema cartoon bearing a strongly metaphorical, rhetorical and prosodic slogan: « Weave Truth with Trust ». Its colour and shape highlight the position of the central figure whose bent down head, in the bull's eye, can be regarded as a sign of distress or of submission, whether it is feigned or real. This man's garment is blue with white cuffs and the observers can easily recreate the saltire27 through the lines of perspective they are given to see and guess. On scrutinizing the details of the whole work, one can notice that the flag of Saint Andrew is omnipresent: Currie surely did not use the symbolical azure blue colour, set off with white, only to emphasize volumes and perspective as is currently done in landscape painting for example. The device must mean something more. As variations of the general topic, flags are embedded in the settings against which groups stand out. In panel 4 for example, the flag of the Scottish party exhibits its blood-red and gold colours stressed by their complementary blue. Panel eight, the Scottish flag emerges from an ocean of international banners and pennants: the painter admits it is to be understood as a Marxist answer to Thatcherite liberalism. Given as a Socialist celebration, Currie's symbolic and figurative artwork is heavily referential. It stages Glaswegian and Scottish history. Its painting is narrative and based on facts when it portrays the weavers rioting in 1787, Dundee citizens planting the tree of freedom in 1792… but it also tells the story of years of sedition which can quickly be visualized. Direct and specific references to historical facts are at the very core of Currie's artpiece and yet, the artist leads the viewers towards more general insurrectional situations experienced more widely in Scotland, Europe and in the whole world in the 19th and 20th centuries. Never far away, the French Revolution remains a model to worship: in panel 2, for exemple, the red cap of Liberty worn by an allegorical Scotswoman occupies the bull's eye. Although the figures in tartan dress around her form some sort of coiling procession and movement, some sort of winding pageant, she frames an inverted V shape with the nearest ones28. To the observers' eyes, it may be a visual reminder of a dibble or of the pointed ends of the weavers' tools, such as needles and shuttles. These instruments are represented in the foreground as well. Other red caps seem to float over visual fragments of azure flag-like fabric in the background. Currie also wishes to bridge the gap between countries, continents and periods of time. He enlarges the topos to a far wider scale: he mentions numerous demonstrations organised by trade-unions, the deportation of some of

162

History Painting and Roman Celtic Heritage: Alan Robb, Ken Currie, and their Predecessors

their leaders to Australia for instance (panel 3) or meetings between political counterparts at an international level. The narrative and pictorial movement initiated by the artist is both circular and ambivalent. It is not vectorial. The flags float from left to right, and conversely from right to left, drawing the viewers' eyes in both directions. It is at the same time centrifugal and centripetal: it focuses on Scotland but is open onto the rest of the world, towards France, Spain, Italy, Russia (or former USSR) or America). It is both general and particular: as in De Rivera's murals some activists can be recognized. Ken Currie says he was chosen for the work because he is a figurative painter. The visitors of the People's Palace are supposed to identify the "characters" but also to identify to the "characters". Currie's panels glorify Scottish "popular" arts and culture through the myse en abyme of inscribed symbols and words: they serve as essential and necessary forms of legitimacy and legitimization. Words by Robert Burns accompany and stand side by side with activists' messages. The People's Palace is a museum and a memorial in which Currie's painted panels overlook the remains of a forgotten labouring class as a floating banner celebrating their brave heroes. The artist feels he belongs to the group and he doubly signs his painting with his autoportrait: he's wearing blue dungarees the braces of which cross on some of diagonal lines of perspective that also connect and unite the helmets of the miners on strike to the national Scottish flag side-lit by a globe: they form a triangular shaped structural pattern that definitely looks like a flag itself turned towards the East: activist Currie openly acknowledges his Marxist political position once again. His/story is at the core of a larger ideological process. The title of the eighth panel, « Unfurling our history—our future », shows the central part played by his work in a more general movement. It encompasses past, present and future. Currie uses heavily encoded semiotic signs, cloth, pigments and oil as a record of the realities of the fights the workers, the "people", were involved in when struggling for life, respect and recognition. "To unfurl" also defines the composition of the painting regarded as an eight-panelled banner demonstrating, if necessary, the power and suffering of labour. It also shows and exposes his own commitment. He regards his painting as a personal committing act but also as a collective testimony of the working class to whose members some homage is paid ("our history"). Currie's memorial is one element pertaining to a duty process which some would qualify as devoted to the past, to utopia, and as deeply inspired by the policies applied in Eastern communist countries set as models; panel 5 reads: « Red Clyde ‘We can make Glasgow a Petrograd’ A Revolutionary Storm centre second to none ». Red is overwhelmingly present, explicit and referential. A few touches of green are attention-grabbing: they

Scotland and Europe, Scotland in Europe

163

mark out Irish trade-union leaders; a woman is wearing a beret of the shamrock colour and the book she's holding in her hand is, once again, like a miniature saltire, a foreshortened reminder of the Scottish "emblem". Scottish history is not painted as ideally exotic: violence and pain are oozing from Currie's oils. The workers' riots were hard and many demonstrators were injured or even died in them. The determination and activism of Currie's figures are displayed through linguistic and semiotic signs. Allegories and union leaders are framed side by side in his emblem-like work. Men and women are portrayed carried away by a stream of claim which highlights precise and specific moments and places, but which also emphasizes international and perpetual sides. Compared to Currie's work, Robb's seems academic, intellectual et rigid, almost fossilized. It appears calm and quiet. His figure is almost stiff29. He is object-like. The funeral embedded in the Greek landscape at the back seems to show that time has stopped. Yet, rebellion and lethal injustice are concepts synthetized in the death of Phocion. Given as emblematic and didactic, the mythic hero symbolises iniquity and martyrdom: the composition of the painting shows Robb posing amidst various surrounding elements while opposing them, whereas Currie is always presented as an active member of a group. The two artpieces look worlds apart: Robb poses as a contrasting contemporary model. Currie asserts himself as the kingpin to a socio and politico-cultural continuum that needs keeping, protecting and preserving. Despite obvious differences, their common desire to display, to exhibit a certain Scottishness underlies their works: thanks to their pictorial presence, their canvases can be read as banner-like cloths of protest "staging" the place and part some Scots claim on the international scene which eternally disregards their "regional" difference. This, of course, doesn't mean they cannot be appreciated as British artists. One interpretation does not necessarily annihilate the other. Consequently, the idea that history painting would be but unionist can be toned down. How could we take for granted that Wilkie, Allan, etc … would forget or even discard their Scottishness as soon as they arrived in London? Did they really turn their backs to their roots when given opportunities in the Capital City or abroad? Did they necessarily and systematically embrace the classic continental turn of mind and "wrist" when appointed Academicians or scholars on the grand tour? The question is worth asking and why not answer it with one tempting "shaded" hypothesis? Currie has been using the Scottish flag with the Saint Andrew cross as the layout of his work, which many other Scottish artists may have done before too. As a matter of fact, a lot of paintings still regarded as representative of the Scottish schools and trends, whatever their genres and the periods in which they were realized, are strikingly based on a more or less common pattern the

164

History Painting and Roman Celtic Heritage: Alan Robb, Ken Currie, and their Predecessors

geometry of which is close to the saltire. Used as their royal standard and "national" fabric, it may have fashioned their specific artistry in the same way as Jake Harvey once told me that he could only sculpt his group commemorating the battle of Culloden by welding them out of real workers and peasants' old genuine iron tools which were the depositaries of their lives, fights, sweat and blood. The Saint Andrew cross is said to be one of the oldest national flags maybe dating back to the 12th century. The Christ-like dimension of crucified Christian martyr and Apostle Saint Andrew amplifies the miraculous content of the tale attached to it. It enables the Scots and Scottish bodies to demonstrate their loyalty and nationality. It encodes30 their pride and identity. Its official design and shades are azure or sky-blue (Pentone 299 or 300) for the field or ground and silver (argent) or white for the diagonals. Since the decision of James VI-I in 1606, the saltire has been one of the components of the combination used for the union. With all these afferent essential, legendary and historical elements born in mind, let's now give a few examples to back up the hypothesis of a common structural pattern whether the paintings under study are conversation pieces, history or genre paintings…:

a) saltire-shaped pattern a) head-on view

b) from the side views

In Tom Faed's The Last of the Clan (1865)31, the intersection between the ground shade on the upper left hand side and the rope the man in red is tying round a wooden post is landmarked by the very figure's right foot. A few objects

Scotland and Europe, Scotland in Europe

165

like crates, pots and material, whether on the left or on the right of the scene, delineate this cross-like pattern across which the Scotsman on horseback seems to remain as if to maintain it firmly down as solid foundations. Several genre scenes including Jacob de Wet's The Highland Wedding, David Allan's The Highland Dance (1780) and The Penny Wedding (1795) or David Wilkie's The Penny Wedding (1818) stage a bride and a bridegroom systematically dancing in front of their guests whose feet delineate a saltire-like space viewed from different angles; the figures seem to be clustering around two diagonal lines running from bottom left to top right and from bottom right to top left (and conversely). They are based on the same general composition except for the latter in which three figures slightly disrupt it in the lower left-hand corner.

Similarly, Wilkie's Pitlessie Fair (1804), The Blind Fiddler (1806), The Rent Day (1807), Alexander Fraser's Music Makers, William Lizard's Reading the Will (1811), George Harvey's The Covenanters' Preaching (1830), for example, seem to arrange all the figures inside two triangular shapes either joining right on the bull's eye or on its decentered anamorphic equivalent. Alexander Nasmyth's Edinburgh from Princes Street with the Royal Institution under Construction (1825) or his Edinburgh, from Carlton Hill (1825) organise the view of the capital in a similar way although the townscape is slightly tilted and decentered. In Currie's panels, the saltire is a dynamic and structuring item, both backdrop and layout. It is, in no way, one of the components of a decorative setting; there is no inertia in it that would fix and freeze the Scottish and international labour movement in time and space or in some sort of atemporality and universality. Scottishness is inscribed through well-known historical events and it is authenticated through the double signature of the artist whose testimony as a Marxist activist and a Scot is openly given and exposed. Though the content of its political message is less obvious and showing, Alan Robb's work can be analysed as one of the links in a continuous process declaring history painting as an ongoing referential artistic flow in which classic and academic re/sources are

166

History Painting and Roman Celtic Heritage: Alan Robb, Ken Currie, and their Predecessors

ceaselessly reactivated through their contemporary reworking and mise en abyme: Dimarco and Robb defend Scottish Art as both universal and specifically national and although Currie and Robb represent but a drop in the lochs of the Scottish artistic production, their works are worthy statements and landmarks in history painting. Just as political, the saltire used as fabric and foundation of national history painting couldbe perceived as a means to emblematize the virtues the Scottish painters defend as theirs and as their nation's.

Notes 1

"a term in art applied to scenes representing actual historical events, and to scenes from legend and literature of a morally edifying kind. From the Renaissance to the 19th century it was generally accepted by artists and critics that history painting was the highest branch of the art. It was traditionally treated in the 'Grand Manner' —that is, with rhetorical gestures, lofty sentiments, and figures either nude or clad in 'timeless draperies'. It was only in the late 18th century that contemporary costume began to be used for history painting", John Julius Norwich (Ed.), Oxford Illustrated Encyclopedia of The Arts, O.U.P., 1990. 2 This does not mean "created", of course. 3 'The celebration of Britishness —or, more often, of Englishness— affected many forms of art, from the humblest to the highest.', Jacques Carré and Pierre Dubois: The Arts in Britain from the Stuarts to Victoria, Editions du Temps, Paris, 2001. 4 'The Royal Academy of Arts of England is, with regard to the Arts of Design, the first, and consequently the most subordinate, step in the career of national refinement, but it is the proper link which unites the progress of the arts with the greatness of the nation. (Prince Hoare, An Inquiry into the Requisite Cultivation and Present State of the Arts of Design of England [London, 1806], 135.)': Holger Hoock: The King's Artists; The Royal Academy of Arts and the Politics of British Culture 1760-1840, Clarendon Press, Oxford, 2003. 5 The "grand manner" as it was defined by Sir Joshua Reynolds in his Discourses on Art (see Ed. Robert A. Wark, Yale University press, 1997). 6 Jacques Carré & Pierre Dubois: The Arts in Britain from the Stuarts to Victoria, Editions du Temps, Paris, 2001. 7 Linda Colley, Jacques Carré and Pierre Dubois in J. Carré and P. Dubois: The Arts in Britain from the Stuarts to Victoria, Editions du Temps, Paris, 2001. 8 Depending on feuding extreme viewpoints, Scotland can either be regarded as and said to be a nation, a province or a region. In this paper, when following the unionist viewpoint, the word "nation" is applied to the country itself and "region" to Scotland although neither the geographic nor the political referential notions deriving from these appellations seem to be right. Since the Scots currently use "nation" when referring to Scotland, the author of this paper has respected this linguistic habit when adopting their point of view.

Scotland and Europe, Scotland in Europe

9

167

Holger Hoock: The King's Artists; The Royal Academy of Arts and the Politics of British Culture 1760-1840, Clarendon Press, Oxford, 2003. 10 Ibid. 11 Prince Hoare's Epochs of the Arts: Including Hints on the Use and Progress of Painting and Sculpture in Great Britain, London, 1813, quoted in Jacques Carré et Pierre Dubois's The Arts in Britain from the Stuarts to Victoria, Editions du Temps, 2001. 12 Website: 13 Website : 14 In his book entitled L'Art français, XVIIe & XVIIIe siècle (Flammarion, 1995, p. 148), André Chastel explains that Poussin managed to shape new topics thanks to architecture and landscape that he associates in Funérailles de Phocion where buildings occupying different successive planes can be seen through fronds: "Leur conjonction semble orchestrer une sorte de marche funèbre; jusque-là, on n'avait guère eu l'équivalent de ce calme un peu douloureux qui pénètre le spectacle." 15 The French title is : Paysage avec les funérailles de Phocion. 16 Andrea di Pietro (1508-1580): born in Padua and active in Vicenza; he has been one of the most influential figures in Western architecture through his buildings and publications. His patron Count Giangiorgio Trissino gave him the name Palladio derived from the Greek goddess of wisdom. 17 The Villa Capra or Villa Rotonda. Was "begun in 1566 […] has a portico in the form of a Roman temple front on each of its four sides. Palladio was the first to use the temple front in domestic architecture, and like other of his innovations it soon became part of the standard repertory of architectural forms." (John Julius Norwich (Ed.), Oxford Illustrated Encyclopedia of The Arts, OUP, 1990, p. 337-8). 18 An architectural style and a movement called Palladianism involve "symmetry, methodological regularity, and classical correctness of detail." John Julius Norwich (Ed.), Oxford Illustrated Encyclopedia of The Arts, OUP, 1990, p. 337. "Palladianism also had political overtones as it was particularly favoured by aristocratic members of the Whig party, who supported the House of Hanover. The BAROQUE style, which was still prevalent throughout most Europe, was associated by them with Roman Catholicism and the deposed Stuarts." (Edward Lucie-Smith, Dictionary of Art Terms, Thames and Hudson, London 1984). 19 The Scottish Arts Council website offers a collage of information and viewpoints on Richard Demarco: "Born in Edinburgh in 1930, Richard Demarco's reputation as a leading exhibition and theatre director began when he helped found the Traverse Theatre in the city in 1963. Since then, he has been one of Scotland's most influential advocates for contemporary art through his work at the Richard Demarco Gallery and the Demarco European Art Foundation, as well as his professorship at Kingston University in London. His contributions to contemporary art internationally has been recognised on numerous occasions, receiving the Polish Gold Order of Merit, the Cavaliere della Republica d'Italia, the Chevalier des Arts et Lettres de France and the Order of the British Empire." The Demarco European Art Foundation is an educational and cultural non-profit distributing charity, registered in Scotland. Established in 1992, the Foundation aims to develop and extend the work of the Richard Demarco Gallery (1966 -) by maintaining

168

History Painting and Roman Celtic Heritage: Alan Robb, Ken Currie, and their Predecessors

and developing its extensive archives and by examining, fostering and presenting contemporary art. "Ricky Demarco is such a remarkable and much-loved figure in Scotland's arts scene and his influence both in Scotland and internationally should never be underestimated. With everything that he has achieved, it is astounding that at 75, he still shows the same passion and dedication to his work that he always has" (Amanda Catto, Head of the Visual Arts at the Scottish Arts Council). "he is an artist in his own right and because he has been one of the most significant animateurs of international art in these islands during the last fifty years. He was responsible for bringing a number of highly significant Eastern European artists to Britain, most notably Paul Neagu, and was the first person to bring Joseph Beuys to these shores. The British artists he has represented in his gallery are myriad and his support for many of them has been vital; for instance he showed Patrick Heron in Edinburgh when Patrick was at his most neglected. There is nobody with any record comparable to Demarco's." (Mel Gooding, Chairman, Artists' Lives Advisory Committee). Demarco's enthusiasm and drive for supporting and promoting Scottish arts has made him one of the most influential figures in the Scottish arts world. For the recording Demarco, who celebrates his 75th birthday this weekend, will recount stories from more than fifty years as an artist, gallery and theatre director, teacher and art patron as well as providing countless anecdotes of his experiences of working in the arts throughout the world. 20 "A Roman-Celtic Heritage" in 20 Website: . 21 "In making this work, the artist affirms a belief in the importance of history, the value of painting tradition and the need for succeeding generations to renew that tradition. […] The painting was assembled on computer and the perpective of the image of the mode/sculpture 'Corrie' was worked out on Photoshop. The handling and execution is in the pre-20th Century oil techniques of transparent glazes over a fully resolved drawing." Euan McArthur, Alan Robb, 4 April 1999, . 22 The work was commissioned in October 1986 after several months of negotiations and fund-raising. Currie says he was chosen because his 'work had previously dealt with historical themes relating to Glasgow, was figurative, on a large scale and broadly realistic in style'. The People's Palace; History Painting; a short guide, Glasgow Museums & Art Galleries, 1990. 23 Fernand Léger: "From his return to France in 1945 his painting reflected more prominently his political interest in the working classes. But its static, monumental style remained, with flat unmodulatyed colours, heavy black contours and a continuing concern with the contrast between cylindrical and rectilinear forms." The Oxford Companion to Twentieth Century Art (Ed. Harold Osborne), O.U.P., 1990 (1981). 24 The People's Palace; History Painting; a short guide, Glasgow Museums & Art Galleries, 1990.

Scotland and Europe, Scotland in Europe

169

25 In his dictionary, Alain Rey's definitions emphasize the age-long social and military denotations and connotations: "convocation faite par le suzerain à la noblesse pour le servir à la guerre"; "terme de droit féodal qui désigne ceux qui marchaient sous elle et qui devaient service militaire au seigneur", Le Robert. Dictionnaire historique de la langue française, 3 vol.Paris, 1998 (1992). 26 The People's Palace; History Painting; a short guide, Glasgow Museums & Art Galleries, 1990. 27 As in the legend attached to the cross of Saint Andrew, victimization and martyrdom are stressed. 28 Triangles, circles and spirals are key underlying forms in Currie's "mural". 29 : "The artist, with a determined look, the mouth set firm, is resolute in his position, which may be as foolish as Don Quixote. Therein lies the humour and the commitment." 30 The Court of the Lord Lyon: Scottish Heraldic Flags; 31 All the paintings cited in this paragraph can be found in Duncan Macmillan's Scottish Art (1460-1990), Mainstream Publishing, Edinburgh, 1990.

NOMAD IN ATOPIA: THE GEOPOETIC ETHICS OF KENNETH WHITE INNES KENNEDY, UNIVERSITY OF THE HIGHLANDS & ISLANDS, MILLENIUM INSTITUTE

Kenneth White is one of many modern and postmodern Scottish artists and intellectuals who were substantially influenced by Continental thought, even if White’s self-conscious Pelagianism marks him out from the conservatism of the mainstream Scottish Pauline-Augustinian tradition. Therefore, aspects of Nietzsche, Deleuze and Prigogine are salient features of his poetry and prose, as well as carefully considered connections to Buddhism. On a normative level, accepting White’s cultural critique entails a “geopoetic” retrieval and reconfiguration of Scotland’s historically European cultural heritage and resources, and resistance to the homogenising and nihilistic forces of angloamerican neoliberal culture. This cosmological-ethical imperative extends from Scotland and Europe to the world. Here is a well-known example of what he calls “geopoetics”: All is Lithogenesis – or Lochia Carpolite fruit of the forbidden tree, Stones blacker than the Caaba, Cream-coloured caen-stone, chatoyant pieces, Celadon and Corbeau, bistre and beige, Glaucous, hoar, enfouldered, cyathiform, Making mere faculae of the sun and moon

That is from On a Raised Beach by Hugh MacDiarmid.1 White's extrapolation of this and other possible examples involves a number of extraordinarily ambitious and complex themes in philosophy, poetry and science. In what follows I shall attempt to show the relations between just a few of these complex themes and ideas, and how they are manifest in Kenneth White’s aims.2 Among these rather grandiose themes in White’s work that discussed, then, are the poststructuralist critique of the logic of identity; the relationship of chaos-theory in natural science to the philosophy of time in Heraclitus; and

Scotland and Europe, Scotland in Europe

171

lyricism and affirmation in White and Gilles Deleuze. Finally, given the Deleuzian aspect of the work of White, I conclude with a few remarks on the enduring significance of the major influence on Deleuze himself, namely, Henri Bergson. These are all complex questions, and so by way of a gradual introduction to them I shall begin by setting forth a general hypothesis about 20th century Scottish intellectual and cultural history with the intention of placing Kenneth White in a clear historical context. I use the word “clear" because White often gives versions of his own cultural-historical context that are rather misleading.

Scottish Intellectual and Cultural History in the 20th Century There is a clear trajectory throughout the 20th century in Scotland of what has come to be called particularly “Continental” or “European” style of thought; with closely associated ramifications for literature, painting, sculpture, and so on. This style of thinking is often loosely depicted as extending from the phenomenology of Edmund Husserl in the late 19th century and early 20th century, with its powerful subsequent developments in existentialism and hermeneutics as the 20th century advanced. It is often contrasted with the mathematising, analytical, so-called “angloamerican” style, even if, in fact, this contrasting style is also a product of central Europe. Besides Husserl, of course, “Continental” thought is deeply influenced by Friedrich Nietzsche, as we go on to see. In Scotland, a decisive event for the current of its subsequent thought and expression was the First World War. Prior to the war, Scotland was evidently one of the most self assured countries on the planet. It possessed one of the most disciplined and educated workforces in the world, producing half of all the university graduates in the UK. At the same time, it had a tremendously powerful intellectual tradition for such a small country. This tradition had strongly influenced the 19th century from the very beginning, through the philosophy of Thomas Reid and Dugald Stewart, and at the end in the so-called “second Scottish Enlightenment”, with Sir James Frazer's work on anthropology, and also the formidable 9th version of the Encyclopaedia Britannica.3 Yet in 1914 it stood on the brink of an economic and cultural cataclysm from which it would take at least a century to recover. And it is the main thrust of my interpretation that the philosophical response to the genuine infrastructural crisis in Scotland after 1918 was to develop in existential or “Continental” direction, however self-consciously. This European development was rather at odds with the main direction of angloamerican thought in the UK and may be partly explained, on the one hand, by the fact that Scottish culture had always had a

172

Nomad in Atopia: The Geopoetic Ethics of Kenneth White

tradition of metaphysics that had as an ethical function the genetic explanation of action, and on the other, by the agonising crises of Scottish society in the 20th century as it endured economic meltdown, mass emigration, and chronic social problems, including the highest infant mortality in Europe. In this respect the Scottish experience of the inter-war condition is slightly closer to that of mainland Europe than to the rest of United Kingdom or Ireland. The first institutional marker of this is the now completely forgotten Aberdeen philosopher John Laird (1887-1946) who was (with Ryle) among the first anglophone commentators on Husserl and Heidegger in the 1920’s. His book on Realism, which is a turn back to Thomas Reid and away from the prevailing Idealisms, published in 1917, is significantly dedicated to his brother, who was killed at the Battle of the Somme.4 Laird worked in Cambridge at this time, which was in the process of becoming the seat of angloamerican philosophy under the auspices of Moore, Russell and Whitehead. A Scottish contemporary of Laird's was of course John Macquarrie, whose translation of the so-called “bible” of existentialism, Heidegger's Being and Time, became the standard text for the entire 20th century and beyond. And indeed Macquarrie's own book, Existentialism, is also one of the best standard texts on the subject.5 Laird, a Gifford lecturer like his contemporaries Henri Bergson and Etienne Gilson, corresponded with most major European philosophers in the first-half of the 20th century and was very highly respected. But he is completely forgotten now, even though he wrote over 24 books, including one on the relationship of literature to philosophy. Among other major institutional figures was the Christian existentialist John Macmurray, in whom we see an existential theory of action which is also an assiduous if nevertheless moderate postmodern philosophy.6 Macmurray's influence was very great even if his slightly later contemporary, George Elder Davie, was not much impressed with him.7 Davie himself can plausibly be seen to be a theorist of the hermeneutics of traditionthat is the theoretical function of all that practical work on the history of philosophy-and in this I suggest that, besides his well-known admiration for Husserl, he bears a close temperamental affinity to the French protestant hermeneutic philosopher Paul Ricoeur. Again from the point of view of institutions, a former student of Macmurray's is Alastair Hannay, who has theorised a philosophy of consciousness that partly refers to the Scottish tradition, and who has been far better known as the leading authority on the Christian existentialist philosopher Søren Kierkegaard, as well as the editor of the foremost Continental-style philosophy journal, Inquiry.8 George Davie, as mentioned above, has profoundly influenced many indeed, including in some respects Glasgow University's Alexander Broadie, who has recently turned the theory of tradition in the direction of Duns Scotus.9 Besides Broadie, Davie and McMurray have also notably influenced Cairns Craig of Edinburgh University,

Scotland and Europe, Scotland in Europe

173

whose powerful and original book on the modern Scottish novel is, amongst other things, an existential analysis of 20th century Scottish literature.10 Beyond Scotland, three figures in particular have been extraordinarily influential. R.D.Laing was probably Scotland's most famous 20th century public intellectual, and was noted for his existential approach to psychiatry.11 In America, the Glaswegian anthropologist Victor Turner, whose mother founded the Scottish National Theatre in the interwar years, was one of the only pioneers of anti-structural “post-modern” anthropology in the anglophone world.12 And lastly, it has become commonplace to describe the Scottish philosopher Alasdair MacIntyre's historicist approach to philosophy and science as the most controversial in the last 50 years of moral philosophy.13 This amounts to just a handful of the institutional figures in Scottish cultural and intellectual history in the 20th century who are theorising along Continental lines. In literature in the inter-war period, Edwin Muir was of course the first translator of Kafka along with his wife, the writer Willa Muir. And he was also deeply influenced by Nietzsche for a time, as he explains in his An Autobiography, indeed partly for reasons of the catastrophic degradation and squalor he saw in the Scotland of the 1920s to which I alluded above.14 Until World War II this period is dominated by MacDiarmid’s titanic artistic-political project of creation-in-destruction that was powerfully informed by Nietzsche and Shestov; and MacDiarmid is never absent from the background when we consider White's relationship to Scottish society, as Seamus Heaney has noted. In the same generation as White is Alexander Trocchi, author of the recentlyfilmed Young Adam (with Tilda Swinton and Ewan MacGregor), which is along the secular-existential lines of Camus' The Outsider. Finally there is James Kelman, self-avowed writer “in the existential tradition” whose analysis of power, in his novels and short stories, of institutions, bureaucracies, functional roles, etc, parallels that of Althusser and Foucault and draws on Kafka and Beckett.15 Kelman was educated in Existentialism at a Scottish philosophy department, as he constantly repeats, and he is godfather to entire generation of successful younger Scottish writers, including Irvine Welsh, Alan Warner, and Duncan McLean, and indeed he shared until recently a Chair in Creative Writing at Glasgow with the poststructuralist author (of Lanark) Alasdair Gray. None of this is even to mention the avante-garde productions of Ian Hamilton Finlay at “Little Sparta”, nor indeed many other figures in art and literature in Scotland, whose cast of mind bears little no relation to the ideological and scientistic tendencies of Anglo-British thought so bitterly criticised by White. But little of this very obvious divergent tendency of mind has ever been made explicit in historical commentaries of Scottish culture over the last hundred years. Of course, that is to presuppose that there have been many

174

Nomad in Atopia: The Geopoetic Ethics of Kenneth White

cultural and intellectual commentaries on Scotland in the last hundred years–in fact it is the absence of such that is particularly striking. There is virtually silence on the cultural and intellectual history of Scotland in the last hundred years-a situation doubtless unthinkable in, say, Ireland or Norway, or indeed, France. By default, aphasia has become a virtual cultural pathology, one constantly beginning anew and constantly under erasure. There are other ways of seeing this. It is possible to build on the evergrowing literature on the Scottish Enlightenment's disproportionate contribution to modernity by pointing out that, as a stateless nation, Scotland operated liminally as both Enlightenment (qua the ideology of science, progress, technocracy, and individualism of the 19th & 20th centuries) and Enlightenment-critique (the destabilising, subversive, postmodern literary modes of MacPherson, Hogg, Scott, Carlyle etc; plus the phenomenological variations in philosophy and literature), a tension that sustained Scottish traditional commitments to ethical identity (and purpose), and which only began to reach maximum instability with the encroachment of a unitary-minded Anglo-British state onto the sphere of education in the 1960s.16 But considerations of space will have to prevail over the merits of that discussion.

Kenneth White: poet, historian, philosopher There is an important reason for introducing Kenneth White by way of this contextualising narrative. In the first place it is because there is a sense in which White does not present himself as a poet at all, but as a geistesgeschichter. Most of White's claims and performances have or derive from historical premises. He is also a historian of himself-we hear a tremendous amount about him. But a context is still necessary because for all this apparent commitment to historical truth, the metaphysics of representation is as anathematic to White as it was for Nietzsche, say, or Gilles Deleuze and he very rarely mentions any actual historians or their works. This was what was intended at the outset above where it was stated that White could be misleading (intentionally or otherwise) and therefore some preamble was necessary. White's prose technique, for example, aims at a naturalistic effect sufficiently downbeat that the significance or consequence of what is written is easy to miss. It is possible to argue that this technique is in fact a failure in White because the naturalism far too often descends into the dead language of clichés, obsolete ‘sixties slang and dreary narcissistic digressions. No less alienating is the constant recurrence of the one-line paragraph, slightly rephrasing, in the form of a gesture, part of the point of the previous longer paragraph. The effect of this is usually bathos. Yet this is entirely unhelpful to White's Nietzschean-Deleuzian aims, because these latter

Scotland and Europe, Scotland in Europe

175

aim to recreate the play of forces in an open, economical and transient scriptural patterning that is perpetually open to interpretation and play. But leaving that cavil to the side for the moment to return to the question of White’s historical premisses, it is important to realise that the latter are virtually present in everything he writes, and provide a rationale for his self-styled “nomadic” project. Two (rather dated) history books that nevertheless appear to have been determinate in some way are Toynbee's Study of History and Spengler's Decline of the West. Taken in conjunction with Nietzsche's variegated history of nihilism (and later, Heidegger's) it is evident that White holds a pessimistic interpretation of “History”. Nevertheless he makes constant quasi-didactic reference to historical names, events and figures in an unsystematic and inconsequential style that is in fact deeply monotonous in precisely the same way that Alain Badiou claims that Deleuze's deployment of a vast array of names is deeply monotonous-which is to say, the constraining of a tremendous heterogeneity to a surprisingly limited reservoir of concepts.17 Hence it does not really matter about historiography, or historical or factual accuracy, because that is not really what is at issue. Then again, the question must arise-why should anyone be interested? Still, rightly or wrongly, it is from such historical premises that White committed himself to the creative Nietzschean exile he has called “atopia”, and has theorised to tremendous nonScottish acclaim as the nomadic intellect. It is important to note in passing that this exile is not related to the process of self-perfection that one finds in figures in the history of philosophy, such as, e.g. Shaftesbury or Descartes.18 There were other historical premises than the Walter Benjamin style “angel of history” that he theorised as the “motorway” of history, and these are more prosaic. From his depictions of Glasgow it is apparent that the city (in which he lived, and where his family were from) was a kind of Hell-concept, following Baudelaire and Rimbaud, and clearly somewhere to be exiled from sooner rather than later. Similar Scottish points of view are to be found in MacDiarmid and others, including Gray's Lanark, or, more contentiously, No Mean City. But it was not only the city, so-conceptualised. British culture is basically just English culture, he argues, and is completely exhausted. In this he concurred with MacDiarmid’s plan to “create” his way out of the abattoir. Again it is worth noting that a good many of White's particular influences arise out of the increasingly distant High Modernist period of literature-hence he accepts most things said by Yeats, Eliot and Pound, plus a good deal of MacDiarmid, and finds some support in the generation just before that, which contained Nietzsche and Rimbaud. It is a standard criticism of High Modernism that its élitism and disconnectedness amounted by default to political quietism.19 Still, this is the movement, in the first instance, that White usually refers to as

176

Nomad in Atopia: The Geopoetic Ethics of Kenneth White

formative and authoritative for his views before he began to relate them, and others, to Buddhism and Buddhist thought. And having just mentioned political quietism it is worth restating explicitly what the “angel of history” or the “motorway of civilisation” means in political terminology. Clearly it means Western liberalism, perhaps in its most unreflective form, which for White is mainstream angloamerican political culture. In other words, besides his historical premises, the rhetorical force of White's denunciation is derived from rejection of the moral philosophy that sustains all the ugly and exploitative paraphernalia of mass democracy, from mass media to corporate interests, to State bureaucracies and Carlyle's famous “cash nexus” (thus he uses quasi-existential critical epithets like “massive cretinisation”). Of course it is true that White is a lifelong employee of the public education system in France-a fact that is not always evident from his admiring descriptions of himself travelling hither and thither in the world, or, as he puts it, "drifting in the void". This point is not made as a serious criticism but only because other Scottish writers, such as James Kelman, are scathing about White's concept of exile or detachment, and no less scathing about the historical and philosophical premises on which it might rest. Between Kelman and White in particular, that is just the merest hint of the grander dispute between Cicero and St Augustine, but more of that later.20 In any event, we can see in White’s longstanding resentment of the resistless force of angloamerican neoliberal capitalism some of the pressing political debate in contemporary France and Germany about the abandonment of a social model of liberalism. But it seems that White must reject even that model of capitalism because it is all part of the mortiferous rabble of history. White’s exile was, originally, therefore, although physically located in France, “really” in atopia, a floating world. It could just as easily have been Scotland, of course, but it was France. He presents this as a merely contingent proposition-but of course White’s success would have been nearly impossible in Scotland, not least because, as mentioned above, Scotland appears to be constantly under erasure. Indeed (and to be fair) the fact that it is under erasure is also one of White’s preoccupations because the imperative of cultural-poetic renewal in Scotland is one of his recurrent themes, even if, as he often claims, he is no nationalist. This brings us to the counterpart of the proposition that White begins as a prophetic historian rather than a poet and the counterpart is that, beginning as a geistesgeschichter, is aim is to conclude as an ethical philosopher. In a trivial sense this is not surprising because the aim of reflection is to tell us what to do, in the end. On the other hand it marks White out as a poet of extraordinary ambition-certainly in the context of the UK even if not necessarily for elsewhere in Europe; and hence this reveals the normative aspect of his tendency to think Scotland in Europe and Europe in Scotland. But White’s ambition

Scotland and Europe, Scotland in Europe

177

notwithstanding, it is clear from the remarks in the first part above about other Scots who are employing particularly “European” categories or styles of thought that he was and is neither by any means unique, nor even the best known, even if the analysis is merely confined to the writers. On the other hand, absolutely no other British writer is as prepared to risk being so embarrassingly pretentious as White. As he himself says, such pretension contravenes Anglo-British strictures on taste.

White: Bergson, Nietzsche, Deleuze, Prigogine Thus far the discussion has mapped two possible contexts of interpretation of Kenneth White: the first place as one of the many artists and intellectuals in Scotland in the 20th and 21st centuries who react to the drastic upheavals in Scottish society by looking to what were described as particularly “European” or “Continental” styles or idioms of thought; and the extent to which there is an element of continuity as much as rupture in this was also indicated. In the second place, White was considered from the aspect not of a technical specialist in poetic productions, so to speak, but from the point of view of the European intellectual in the grand style, a kind of poet who is rarer and less acceptable in the age of infinite division and technocratic authority. I now want to consider White in the context of some of his most revealing influences and culture-heroes. As I have already indicated he makes extended references to numerous figures in literary and philosophical history, and often he wrote poems ostensibly to, or about them, as well. So, I shall now go on to discuss the philosophical projects of Henri Bergson and Gilles Deleuze in conjunction with the physics of Illya Prigogine to show how they ultimately relate to White’s philosophical poetics of the “Open World”, which is of course also the title was recently published Collected Poems.21 At the same time, I shall show how the writings of Heraclitus and Nietzsche are intimately related to this and thereby figure so prominently in White's prose and poetry as well as his scathing cultural critiques. Gilles Deleuze is of course one of the most influential and difficult of the poststructuralist philosophers of dispersal who presage the advent of “Western Buddhism”. At present in Scotland there is a minor critical industry given over to him, although the best analysis so far is Alan Badiou's book The Clamour of Being, which makes the emphatic and provocative claim that Deleuze is a neostoic, a point worth returning to later, given that the oft-discussed relationship of stoicism and liberal modernity, and may in principle be equally an accusation against White as Deleuze.22 Interestingly, Deleuze's first book was on David Hume who produced the famous theory of the (at least potentially) dispersed self in his claim that the self is a bundle of affects and percepts given continuity

178

Nomad in Atopia: The Geopoetic Ethics of Kenneth White

by the fictional power of the imagination. Hume's theory is a form of extreme nominalism just as Deleuze’s proves to be, and, just like the accusation of neostoicism levelled at Deleuze by Badiou it may also be worth considering whether Deleuze's dispersal (and by implication White’s too) is in turn not also another form of extreme nominalism, albeit that Hume himself is usually seen as an Epicurean rather than a Stoic-another feature the marks Hume out from the mainstream Scottish intellectual tradition. The connection of Deleuze and White is a fairly close one on a personal level, because Deleuze was one of White’s institutional examiners for his 2-volume thesis on “Intellectual Nomadism” and pronounced himself very much in favour of it. This was at the time before White had decided to commit to the name of “geopoetics” for any project of cultural renewal. Subsequently White's work is referred to by Deleuze in support of his own theories in his extremely influential book A Thousand Plateaus. A section of this book was published in its own right as Nomadology- The War Machine, and this section is also the one that relates to White's work.23 On the theoretical plane, it is quite easy to see the relationship between Deleuze and White. It is particularly related to Deleuze's subversion of the logic of difference. Deleuze does this, somewhat coincidentally following the pattern whereby Derrida combined Husserl and Saussure, by combining Nietzsche and Bergson. Hence Bergson becomes a major surreptitious element in poststructuralism. To be specific, Deleuze carries Bergson's approach to temporalisation into Nietzsche's concept of difference. In an early work, Deleuze attacks the Hegelian logic of negation because he thinks it leads into a blind alley. It was a misconception of difference, however, that brought about this wrong turning because the Hegelian logic turns difference into negation, and this is what he would call an “inauthentic conception of difference”. It is at this point that Bergson is brought forward. Differences in things are reframed by Bergson from differences in their being (in time) to differences in their becoming (through time). The emphasis on becoming, and thereby fundamentally on the cosmology of Heraclitus, clearly ties Bergson to Nietzsche, at least in the view of Deleuze. Bergson gave the name “tendency” to the kind of difference that was authentic, in his view, because as just mentioned, it was difference becoming through time. The name “tendency” can itself be split into two further conceptual elements, which is to say, phenomenological and ontological. In the phenomenological element within “difference-becoming-through-time”, or “authentic difference”, we are concerned with memory and perception. In the ontological the reference is to evolution. For Deleuze, the fact that tendencies are absolutely heterogeneous means that he can make the distinction of authentic and inauthentic difference that disposes of the dialectical difference, or negation, of the Hegelian logic. Ultimately, in the Nietzschean terminology, the Will to Power is the will to difference, and not as commonly supposed, to

Scotland and Europe, Scotland in Europe

179

negation-i.e. it is to authentic difference, where the dynamic and active differentiating force is stronger than the reactive homogenising force. And we see this concept of authentic difference at work in White's cultural politics too, when he despises the “mass indoctrination” by the “mediocracy” which also includes what passes for art and literature. To make the fundamental connection with Bergson even clearer it is worth pointing out that, for Bergson, history shows a drastic tendency for human beings to confuse time with space, to treat the intensive in the same terms as the extensive, and this has led to all sorts of impasses and contradictions in thought, hence his rethinking of time in Heraclitean terms as above. What is also important to note, not least in light of the strong emphasis that White gives to Duns Scotus, is that both Bergson and Scotus have a theory of intuition in cognition. For Scotus, intuitive cognition is existential and realistic, just as for Bergson the intuition of time as duration is also a primitive. And like Bergson, Scotus too has been under the process of a major review in these last few years. And again, with reference to Deleuze above, for Bergson the cognition of quantity and extensivity is hypostatic, or what Deleuze would call inauthentic, not primitive, even if it is necessary for science and pragmatic control of nature. All of this figures in White’s thought, as does another subtle but noncoincidental factor. This is the question of lyricism. There is a certain lyricism in Bergson's philosophy on the basis of the phenomenology of memory and perception. In perception, one's face is insistently turned towards the new, to the “Open World”, while memory is also a constant virtual present. This is repeated in White and supported in various ways by reference to the likes of Walt Whitman and others where there is a lyricism as well as an oracular and affirming element. And this is to be found in its own way in Nietzsche and MacDiarmid, of course. It is clear therefore that there are close structural connections in White's work to that of Deleuze, Bergson and Nietzsche. This tends to be supported too by work done most notably in the “hard” sciences by the Belgian Nobel prizewinner Illya Prigogine in Open Systems theory.24 In this work Prigogine explicitly alludes to Heraclitus and Bergson in philosophical support of his specifically physical conclusions about the cosmos and about the nature of time. Bergson, it should not be forgotten, had a major public discussion with Einstein in the interwar period, where Einstein related space and time to properties of matter, although Einstein said afterwards said he couldn't follow what Bergson was saying. Prigogine argues that the philosophy of time in classical physics is deterministic, and time is without direction. By contrast, in his words, “non-equilibrium leads to structure” and this entails “a different concept of reality” that rejects the view from Einstein that “Man is a machine inside a cosmic machine”. In a word, says Prigogine, the future simply

180

Nomad in Atopia: The Geopoetic Ethics of Kenneth White

cannot be determined, the world, as White would say, is open. The same principle of nonlinear physical behaviour applies at the individual level of the evolution of the human species too. Heraclitus's metaphysics can be reformulated in terms of a modern theory of dynamism, claims Prigogine. Furthermore, he argues that it is a characteristic feature of nature that individualities emerge from the global. A town, for example, emerges from the countryside in which it is embedded. Evolution is not independent of the environment. As a pure scientist, Prigogine finds Bergson innovative because the latter argued we can understand the outside world by observing our internal world, which is, of course, temporal. Bergson was correct to dispute with Einstein, says Prigogine, because time is not an illusion, as Einstein had claimed. Likewise, Prigogine claims that Stephen Hawking is also wrong because he makes precisely the same mistake about spatialising time that Bergson warned against in 1889. Most interestingly, Bergson's views on time and Heraclitus were actually predated to some extent by a Scottish philosopher from the same school of Common Sense (or Natural Realism) that White never tires of ridiculing. In 1859, the St Andrews' philosopher James Ferrier, a former colleague of James Clerk Maxwell in their philosophical studies under Sir William Hamilton at Edinburgh, was among the first anglophone interpreters of the presocratic philosophers in the modern period, and he argues that Heraclitus' theory of becoming is the law of the universe whereby the universe is a never resting process. The definition of Becoming, says Ferrier, is Being and not-Being simultaneously. In other words, “Being and not-Being are the two elements, the two abstract factors, into which Becoming resolves itself when analysed”-and Time is the best symbol that expresses the concept of becoming as the unity of being and not being. “The solution of the enigma of the universe” lies in this concept, thinks Ferrier.25 Clerk Maxwell, too, would speak of “a new kind of knowledge” that would overturn the prejudices of determinism in physics. It's interesting to note, too, that Bergson was a student of Felix Ravaisson, the author of a major commentary on Hamilton and Intuition (i.e. the Common Sense school) for the Revue des Deux Mondes in 1840. So it is in fact from an intense common debate that Ferrier and Bergson arrived independently at their positions on time and becoming. Ferrier died quite soon after producing his theory, however, and it was never developed. For Kenneth White, however, these insights from Prigogine, Nietzsche, Bergson and Deleuze and many others contribute to a hardening ethical position he now terms Geopoetics. It is this approach to ethics, which he has derived in great measure from the so-called ‘Continental’ philosophy (but which has also some interesting similarities with the intuitive theory of presence in Duns Scotus) that White is able to take from

Scotland and Europe, Scotland in Europe

181

Europe for Scotland, but also contribute from Scotland to Europe, and the world. As he says: …we try to create the world in our own image, and then we wonder how it comes to bore us so much, so that we have to change toys all the time. But what if we left the world a bit more alone? What have we try to enter into subtly, getting rid of ourselves (our heavy selves) as we gradually move across and into the territory?...Cosmo-poetic meditations...and a cosmic consciousness, where there is no separation between the self and the world, but an experience of continuity.

Notes 1

Hugh MacDiarmid, “On a Raised Beach”, quoted in Alan Bold MacDiarmid: a Critical Biography (London, John Murray, 1988) 294. 2 As White says, in Geopoetics: Place, Culture, World (Glasgow, Alba Editions, 2003) 23: “In one of the notes to his Cosmos Humboldt says that science, poetry and philosophy are not fundamentally separate, that they come together in the mind of one who has achieved a state of unity. It is this unity which characterises a ‘complete work’, in the sense I give that term. A similar unity can occur, in a more general kind of a way, at certain periods of history. It is one of the theses of geopoetics that we may be able to open up such a period”. Apart from the small problem that Humboldt’s representational concept of unity is the opposite of the affirmative and nomadic sense in White, this passage is very much in the spirit of Heidegger, and, as a manifesto statement of the value of spiritual eclecticism (sic), also of the preface to Merleau-Ponty’s Phenomenology of Perception (London, Routledge and Kegan Paul, 1962). For further critical analysis of the wide range of White’s intellectual concerns see the very useful collection edited by Gavin Bowd, Charles Forsdick & Norman Bissell, Grounding a World (Glasgow, Alba Editions, 2005). 3 As was remarked by T.S.Eliot then, and others since, it is hard to overstate the impact of Frazer’s work on the twentieth century literature and art, and not least for the interwar generation who perceived the Great War as a ritual mass slaughter. See also Cairns Craig, The Modern Scottish Novel (Edinburgh, Edinburgh University Press, 1999) 41-43, 141-166 and G.E.Davie, ‘Scottish Philosophy and Robertson Smith’ in The Scottish Enlightenment and other essays (Edinburgh, Polygon, 1991) 99-145. For another view on the significance of the 9th version of the Encyclopaedia Britannica in light of the postmodern incommensurability of rationalities, see Alasdair MacIntyre’s Gifford Lectures of 1988, published as Three Rival Versions of Moral Inquiry (London, Duckworth, 1990). Ideologically speaking it has also been strongly argued that Scottish values dominated the nineteenth century worldview. See e.g S.J.Brown, “Thomas Chalmers and the Communal Ideal in Scotland” in Proceedings of the British Academy, 78, 61-62; also Donald Winch Riches and Poverty: an intellectual history of political economy in Britain, 1750-1834 (Cambridge, Cambridge University Press, 1996). 4 John Laird, A Study in Realism (Cambridge, Cambridge University Press, 1920). This was in fact his second book. The first, Problems of the Self (London, MacMillan, 1917)

182

Nomad in Atopia: The Geopoetic Ethics of Kenneth White

engages critically with Bergson and James and contributes to the metaphysical dispute about the continuity of selfhood. Given the discussion about quasi-Heraclitean physics below, it is worth noting that Laird was influenced by Samuel Alexander’s Heraclitean metaphysics, and indeed eventually became Alexander’s literary executor. 5 John Macquarrie, Existentialism (London, Penguin, 1972). 6 Macmurray’s theory of action is also a notably Scotist theory, which is of particular interest given Alexander Broadie’s work on Scotism in other aspects of Scottish intellectual history and White’s general seal of approval upon Duns Scotus too. For why Macmurray is a moderate postmodernist, see Cairns Craig ‘Beyond Reason – Hume, Seth, Macmurray and Scotland’s Postmodernity’ in Eleanor Bell & Gavin Miller (eds) Scotland in Theory (Amsterdam, Editions Rodopi B.V., 2004) 249-283. 7 G.E.Davie’s Crisis of the Democratic Intellect (Edinburgh, Polygon, 1988) gives a powerful analysis of Scottish twentieth century intellectual history, including an important discussion of MacDiarmid and also the Nietzschean influence on John Anderson. Davie’s discussions of the Scottish educational tradition in the twentieth century are best read in conjunction with Lindsay Paterson’s authoritative Scottish Education in the Twentieth Century (Edinburgh, Edinburgh University Press, 2003). 8 Alastair Hannay, Human Consciousness (London, Routledge, 1990), Kierkegaard: a Biography (Cambridge, Cambridge University press, 2001). 9 See e.g., Alexander Broadie’s Gifford lectures The Shadow of Scotus; philosophy and faith in pre-Reformation Scotland (Edinburgh, T & T Clark, 1995); “The Scotist Thomas Reid” in the American Catholic Philosophical Quarterly 74, 3, 2000 385-407; and compare with John Haldane’s startling analysis of supervenience in “The state and fate of contemporary philosophy of mind” in The American Philosophical Quarterly 37, 3, 2000, 301-311. 10 Cairns Craig, 1999, op.cit. 89-90. 11 Gavin Miller’s contribution to the “Edinburgh Review Introductions” series in his R.D.Laing (Edinburgh, Edinburgh University Press, 2004) is also an important advance in twentieth century Scottish intellectual history, not least in his comparison of the ideas of Macmurray and Laing, 65-82. Given the discussion below on the relationship between Deleuze and White it is necessary to note that Gilles Deleuze and Felix Guattari’s powerful and controversial Anti-Oedipus : Capitalism and Schizophrenia (London, Continuum, 1983) is influenced by Laing and makes frequent reference to his work. 12 See e.g. Victor Turner The Anthropology of Performance (New York PAJ Publications, 1987). Turner’s work can also be seen as a riposte to the concept of a rational public sphere such as has been associated by Habermas’s The Structural Transformation of the Public Sphere (London, Polity, 1992). 13 There is a vast literature on MacIntyre’s “revolutionary Aristotelianism”, but the best introduction is Kelvin Knight (ed.) The MacIntyre Reader (Cambridge, Polity Press, 1998). 14 Edwin Muir An Autobiography (Edinburgh, Canongate, 1993). On page 161 he quotes a friend’s view of him in 1919 “I had a delightful afternoon with old Muir; we wandered about the country from two till nine–talking incessantly…Metaphysics almost all the time. Of course, his outlook is purely Nietzschean – there really is no-one else.”

Scotland and Europe, Scotland in Europe

15

183

James Kelman’s blistering if unsteady attack on White’s name-dropping of what Deleuze call “conceptual personae”, “There Is a First-Order Radical Thinker of European Standing Such That He Exists: or, Tantalising Twinkles” is collected in And the Judges Said (London, Vintage, 2003) 187-193. 16 See Craig, 2004, op.cit.; Innes Kennedy, “Scotland and the Ethics of Anomie” in Scottish Left Review, 21, April, 2004, 22-23. 17 Alain Badiou, Deleuze; The Clamour of Being (Minneapolis, University of Minnesota Press, 2000) 15: “…Deleuze arrives at conceptual productions that I would unhesitatingly qualify as monotonous, composing a very particular regime of emphasis or almost infinite repetition of a limited repertoire of concepts, as well as a virtuosic variation of names, under which what is thought remains essentially identical”. Deleuze and Badiou are discussed in greater detail in section 3 & in endnote 19. 18 See J.B.Schneewind’s magisterial The Invention of Autonomy (Cambridge, Cambridge University Press, 1998) 169-193. 19 Thus in the postmodern context this veiled aristocratic tendency is levelled as an accusation against the received and naievely conceived reputation of Deleuze as a democratic thinker of difference by Badiou, extending the mode of his critique of Deleuze as precisely the opposite of what orthodoxy claims for him, namely that he is deeply boring rather than infinitely fecund, that he reinstates Platonism rather than destroys it, that he is “profoundly aristocratic” rather than anarchic and liberating, that rather than a philosopher of life he is a philosopher of death. In fact Deleuze is just another neo-Stoic, says Badiou. Given the deep kinship with White and Deleuze, and also between Stoicism and the Dao-ism so keenly approved by White, it is useful to reflect on the comparisons to inquire whether White too is just another Stoic. See Badiou, op.cit. 9-13,and also Philip Turetzky Time (London, Routledge, 1998) 211-229 where Deleuze’s philosophy of time is described as a neo-Stoic appropriation of Bergsonian time by way of Nietzsche. 20 See endnote 15 above. 21 Kenneth White, Open World: Collected Poems 1960-2000 (Edinburgh, {Polygon, 2003). 22 See endnote 19 above. 23 Gilles Deleuze and Felix Guattari, A Thousand Plateaus; capitalism and schizophrenia (London, Continuum, 2004); Nomadology:The War-Machine (New York, Semiotext(e) 1986). 24 See e.g. Illya Prigogine The End of Certainty; Time, Chaos and the New Laws of Nature (New York, Free Press, 1996). 25 J.F.Ferrier Lectures on Greek philosophy (Edinburgh, Blackwood and Sons, 1886) 109-146.

TWO SCOTTISH WOMEN ON THE CONTINENT: JANICE GALLOWAY’S FOREIGN PARTS BERNARD SELLIN, UNIVERSITY OF NANTES

When Janice Galloway published her first novel, The Trick is to Keep Breathing (1990), the book was received with great interest and warm appreciation. It was short-listed for the Whitbread First Novel and Scottish Book award and won several distinctions, including the MIND/Allen Lane Book of the Year. Before that date, the author had published two collections of short stories which had already suggested the originality of her method and excellence of her writing. As is often the case, the publication of the second novel was to be a challenge and a test: indeed Foreign Parts, which came out in 1994, did not disappoint her readers but confirmed that Janice Galloway should be ranked among the best contemporary Scottish novelists1. While maintaining the same experimental method as in the first novel, the book seemed to break with what many considered the gloomy atmosphere of its predecessor. It also left the wellknown tracks of contemporary Scotland to venture outside, on the continent, namely in France. And this opening towards new territories ought to be welcome in a literature which has sometimes been blamed for its parochialism and finds it difficult to write about other territories2. “Disconnected from Scotland, I find I don’t have much to write about.” says A.L. Kennedy for example3. Of course, setting the book in this foreign country was not fortuitous. It must have been the result of a desire to renew Galloway’s themes by looking beyond Scotland or rather by placing Scotland in a larger geographic context. Although very different in its method of presentation and location, the following novel, Clara (2002), offers another example of this opening towards European culture since it is a fictitious account of Clara Schumann’s life, the German pianist and wife of Robert Schumann. As the title suggests, Foreign Parts is the exploration of foreign territories, above all contemporary France where the plot is set. Two Scottish women, two

Scotland and Europe, Scotland in Europe

185

friends and colleagues, set off on a tourist trip to France. Rona and Cassie, Cassie and Rona, as the book repeats with some doggedness, both in their late thirties, drive off with the prospect of discovering the jewels of northern France, with the help of a few maps and the inevitable tourist guide which are meant to root the narrative in the reality of monuments and landscapes. From the opening chapter, it is made clear that this is one among other journeys, as the two friends are familiar with this way of discovering Europe. Former trips overlap or cross this one: Amsterdam, Warsaw, Munich, etc. And for Cassie other holidays in the company of former male partners on the Mediterranean, Greece and Turkey particularly. The plot enables the reader to follow the two tourists on the roads of northern France. Landing at Calais or Boulogne, then Amiens, Chartres, the châteaux of the Loire valley as far as Angers, then returning via Rouen. Does this mean Foreign Parts is a book about France? Paradoxically, as the author has suggested, it would be risky to come to this conclusion4. She even wondered why she had chosen this setting as she felt she could not write about our country with great authority. Why launch those two women along French roads, considering that they could hardly speak the language and would spend most of the time trapped in their car with few opportunities to get to know the people? The first answer came with little surprise: “The thing is, you can’t choose what to write about (…)You don’t drive the material, the material drives you.”5 And, in a declaration which sounds like a reservation about contemporary practice, she added “Who wants to write about nation all the bloody time?” 6 This being said, it would be wrong to expect a travelling account of the type that is so familiar, praising the charms of “douce France”, the excellence of her cuisine and the fascination of her tourist spots. Our two penniless women can hardly afford a meal at a restaurant. They are so uncommon that they end up wondering whether they should not be regarded as intruders, “fraudulent smoochers”, thus devolving to “genuine tourists” the luxury of holidays in distant countries as presented in catalogues. If they are not the expected kind of tourists, maybe the reason is that the book is not about tourism, not about France. Another surprise: departure is associated with pain and takes place almost reluctantly. It looks like a tearing off, a break at least, as the opening pages suggest when they depict the early embarkation on some Channel ferry. For one of the participants, Cassie, this departure was almost imposed. She keeps saying that it was not her idea. Maybe it was social pressure, or leaving for the sake of leaving, or just having some adventure to tell on her return. Whatever the reason, getting on board confirms this sense of aggression: the glare of headlights, the stink of engines, the sensation of unbearable heat in an episode

186

Two Scottish Women on the Continent: Janice Galloway’s Foreign Parts

that sets the tone of the whole book and serves to introduce another scene which is just as unexpected: the holiday begins with a visit to a graveyard. A cemetery near Arras where the grand-father of one the heroines has been lying since World War I. Not only does this visit suggest that the trip will not be a pleasurable holiday but it also points at the method: a confrontation of places which always turns backwards, now towards the Scottish homeland, now towards a character’s past. And to crown it all, as we will see, it is the private quest that justifies the journey. However, inevitably, the holiday first represents the discovery of a foreign country with its own rules and customs. Although Janice Galloway denies she wanted to write a book about contemporary France, the narrative evokes national characteristics through a few cultural emblems related to films (Trop belle pour toi and Hiroshima mon amour), literature (Sartre and Simone de Beauvoir, Madame Bovary and Thérèse Raquin), to mention but a few. However, anybody turning towards the book in order to find evidence about today’s France is likely to be disappointed as it does not belong to the categories of travel writing or ethnological observation. Nor is it an attempt to capture the essence of the nation. True, the typical Frenchman intrudes here and there but, in the end, proves difficult to grasp in the sarcastic scrutiny of the Scottish tourists. And no nation escapes blame, for example when it comes to gauging sexual abilities. That shop they found in Germany, full of nipple clamps, leather peaked caps and things for tying up scrotums. You think the war would have made that kind of thing lose its appeal but it hadn’t. Holland was mild by comparison: windows full of freesias and kiosks full of oral sex – a nation of flower arranging pornographers. Danes were depressives and Swedes racked by guilt: earnest souls with birch twigs. Greeks were self centred, Italians fancied their chances, Turks were sex-crazed and the French were unspeakable bastards. HA. There wasn’t a decent national stereotype left in the whole of fucking Europe. (55-56)

It does not take long for our two visitors from Scotland to realize that a gulf lies between the image of the Frenchman as seen from abroad and reality. Where are the strong chests showing under the polo shirts. Where are the pleated trousers? “Frenchmen were supposed to be suave” Cassie repeats before concluding that she has not come across evidence. They were supposed to have close-shaved chins and mesomorphic outlines, suggestion of muscle rippling under the polo shirt material, neat crocodile-effect belts and pleated trousers, side-partings and a flop of dark hair over one eye. Lopsided grins. Yves St Laurent or Channel uncurling from manly necks, discreet watches braceleting biteable wrists. But there were only these four men with stains and a rude bugger needing a shave. (24)

Scotland and Europe, Scotland in Europe

187

In the end, the absence of communication between the two tourists and the French is striking. It would not take long to list the exchanges and conversations they have with the people: the caretaker, a bartender, a student. That’s about all. Superficial exchanges usually. It is revealing that one of the few conversations they have, however brief it may be, takes place at the end of the book and involves an Algerian student, not a Frenchman, as the reader would expect. And this turns out to be another superficial chat, interrupted by silence, between foreigners, which underlines that the meeting of cultures is for ever postponed, so strong is the resistance to the Other. At the beginning, the leitmotiv is “we need to keep driving”, as if to signify that it is essential to avoid any contact with the natives. The motorcar, this modern and almost indispensable means of transport, represents a self-enclosed world, a useful shelter for anyone wishing to avoid the aggressions of society. If necessary, it may become a house since the driver can spend his days and even his nights inside, thus exemplifying this wonderful compromise mentioned by Baudrillard, “that of being both at home and far away from home”7. The two friends soon realize that there is nothing new in the south. First because the places are not as interesting as guides pretend. Then also because they find that they are taken back to their own starting point, their own country. Thus the streets of Chartres could be taken for Edinburgh lanes. Saint-Germainen-Laye, an old royal town, happens to be twinned with Ayr in Scotland. In the end it seems there is little novelty here. The narrative is interspersed with extracts from an invented tourist guide entitled Potted France. This second-rate book enables to follow the route from town to town, castle to castle, but instead of giving substance to the visits the comments take a perverse relish in baffling visitors, so huge is the gap between the appreciations and reality. For example, Saumur is introduced in the following way: ‘the pearl of Anjou’, the grey pencil tips of the château's turrets visible for miles on the beautiful liquid tresses of the Loire, is justly famous for fine wines, mushrooms and its celebrated Cadre Noir riding academy which has schooled generations of equestrian militia and their mounts. (136)

Excess, clichés and stylistic effects create a fake landscape which, in the end, produces a sensation of malaise, so far it is from reality. Other examples could be given. These extracts underline the deceptive method at work in tourist guides and consequently the necessity of treating them with caution. Everything is focused on visual aspects, usually with little reference to hardship or pain. A cemetery becomes an object of contemplation and loses its original nature. The bloody fighting of World War I is reduced to a collection of “beautiful cemeteries (…) lovingly tended by the French and often full of summer bloom”.

188

Two Scottish Women on the Continent: Janice Galloway’s Foreign Parts

Beyond this treachery, Janice Galloway is questioning our capacity to alter reality, and it may not be useless to underline that this transformation involves writing. We know that nations are not changeless essences. They are modelled, invented more than given to us. Thus it is obvious that tourist guides, in their own way, contribute to shape national images when they resort to clichés and commonplace, and build up a landscape of the unreal as every Scot knows8. The tourist guide equates with other forms of cultural expressions (magazines, fiction, cinema) when they pretend to copy reality. Thus in one of her meditations, Cassie evokes Doris Day, always neatly dressed and made up on the screen, when in real life she was, apparently, a battered woman. “Maintaining a fiction about reality was just what you did." Cassie says before coming to the angry conclusion. “Madeupness. Like camping. A big lie about it being anything other than totally hellish. Things that suggested how many lies nearly everything was based on.” (36). The journey of our two Scottish women on the continent, to paraphrase the title of François Truffaut’s film9, belongs to a similar form of debunking. Speaking truthfully and denouncing lies, in a work which, paradoxically, is a fiction. In the end, the book ends up by negating its own subject (tourism, the meeting with the Other) and looking forward to homecoming. These extracts from the tourist guide offer some of the most striking passages of the book, not only because they introduce a parallel narrative but also because they are printed in a way that gives them a visual, almost aggressive, quality in keeping with many modern novels. The frames isolate the extracts from the rest of the narrative in order to highlight the parallel discourse, and also to better underline their incongruity or the usurpation of power when the guide seems to impose its will on travellers. Is the guide the catalyst of the journey or should we regard this trip to France as a cultural norm which has become unavoidable in our society of leisure. The departure itself was preceded by a string of questions: why go abroad ? who is taking who ? Is it a mere fashion or a necessity? Finally, what is the point? Deprived from sound textual references, the traveller is running the risk of losing his/her way in the maze of country roads. By the way, Potted France is not the only textual prop since both Cassie and Rona have been careful enough to take books and magazines. For Cassie it is Zola’s Thérèse Raquin and Flaubert’s Madame Bovary. Two French classics indeed but also disconnected from modern France; maybe as disconnected as the film by Alain Corneau, Tous les matins du monde, which is also referred to. We live surrounded by “the empire of signs”, as Barthes would put it. Maybe they are never as forceful as when we are travelling abroad. The book is full of signs, all sorts of signs: characteristic emblems of tobacconists, road signs, advertising posters, although the latter soon give up their national identity

Scotland and Europe, Scotland in Europe

189

for a cross-border international capitalist culture named Coca Cola, Kodak, Akai or Levis (29). Thus crossing a border means discovering a different culture, entering a new world whose language and linguistic signs create a baffling encounter since the passage from one country to another implies getting rid of one’s language to adopt another, as exemplified in this extract from the beginning of the book: Je m'appelle Cassie et what was this is this is mon ami was a man mon AMIE Rona un tasse de café UNE tasse de you did'nt say tasse you just said un café you just said UNE café and what you got was that coffee with milk or just black stuff JE DESIRE meant something filthy you didn't say JE DESIRE you said VOULOIR je veux meant I INSIST you did'nt say

Indeed the language may be the first trap. Between the juvenile stammering of pupils in a classroom and the necessity of ordering a coffee or asking one’s way lies a dangerous zone. It is so easy to confuse chevaux and cheveux, embrasser and baiser ! Hence the temptation to keep one’s mouth shut, hence the impression of moving in a world deprived of meaning like the wall of Arras cemetery (mur des fusillés) MU MU

F

S

"YOU SHOULD BE. CARE FUL WHAT. YOU SAY". The advice Cassie gets is reassuring but the punctuation already destroys the message, suggests an absence of meaning. Another form of dictatorship of the written word appears in the repetitive injunctions given to the travellers: DON’T MISS IT written in capital letters as if to turn advice into order. But if nothing must be missed, if everything is essential, does the trip still make sense, considering that selection is inevitable? Galloway suggests that tourism is, by nature, frustrating, “confrontation with limitation”, to use Cassie’s definition. Limitations are indeed numerous. You can drive through a village without actually noticing it (Ouques). Guides seldom mention what is important and consequently tourists “leave not seeing the best. Because the best is not so well publicised” (227). Often the visit is nothing but a confrontation of lifeless objects whose accumulation verges on nausea (188). It is easy to understand why the traveller, caught between the excess of words and their treachery, may be tempted to withdraw upon himself, a refusal of communication and seeing, sight-seeing. In other words the negation of tourism.

190

Two Scottish Women on the Continent: Janice Galloway’s Foreign Parts

This is made manifest in a panic fear of halts, an obsession with moving along which is the only guarantee for safety. “Everything would be fine when they were moving again. Keeping going along the road.”(28) No wonder then if the adventure avoids motorways and all straight lines, shows preference for a succession of improvised wandering on small roads that lead nowhere, bring visitors to their starting point, or to closed doors and dead ends. The journey is not the only frustrating experience. The narrative also raises the question of the rendering of experience, in other words can a work of fiction faithfully impart the spirit of place? And if words are missing or limited should we not turn towards other forms of expressions, other arts such as photography? This is what the book suggests when, with the help of Cassie, it invites the reader to leaf through an album which brings back to life other holidays, other places and a good deal of her past love life, as if the novel were trying to adjust two layers of life, two couples, two experiences: on the one hand, the present trip to France, and, on the other, a recollection of past holidays, in the company of men this time. In spite of its visual quality, writing cannot vie with photography. Better than any other art, a snapshot manages to capture what is special about a moment in time, freeze it for ever so that it can return. There is more feeling in the contemplation of a photograph than in a visit: maybe the reproduction is better than the original, the recollection better than the actual experience, as the hero of Julian Barnes also hinted in his quest of Flaubert 10? Cassie spends a long time looking at photographs whose rich evocations contrast with the frustrations of the present journey. Only at the end of the book do we understand that this holiday will also produce photos, rich with friendship and memories. The two main characters are social workers so that you expect the holiday to introduce a break in “the misery of the world” to quote Bourdieu11, but this trip to continental Europe does not produce the awaited result. On the contrary it nearly becomes a nightmare. “Lousy weather, wish you weren’t here” wrote the reviewer of The Observer 12. Although the tourists avoid the squalid parts of cities and all trace of urban violence, their account often sounds like a litany of suffering. Not present day hardship, but the suffering which has gathered through centuries, now visible in graveyards, churches and monuments. We’ve been to Corinth and Mycenae, Viking burial mounds, castle dungeons, crypts and vaults in umpteen churches and abbeys, the burning sites of witches. We have traced the names of plague dead in Eyam, seen grafitti on Karl Marx in Highgate and taken photos of Greyfriars bobby. Greyfriars bobby for christsake. Reluctant to eat our pre-packed sandwiches in the bus stop outside Dachau, oddly uncomfortable that the barracks had looked so clean. Pain, suffering, finished lives and tombstones. (166)

Scotland and Europe, Scotland in Europe

191

Such is the leitmotiv that concludes many of these visits. Hence the numerous questions on the validity of this trip. “What are we doing?” “What is it meant to be?” What is the connection between those stones, “old stuff”, and the present ? What’s the point of knowing about life in the reign of Louis XIV? Most of those questions do not receive an answer. Or rather, it is up to the reader to offer answers. And the answer may well lie in the enrichment of a human experience, a shared holiday. In the end, France becomes a metaphor of what is foreign, or let us call it the Other. Thus the book attempts to bring out many facets of the subject. And first a foreign territory, a large country for someone coming from Scotland, “a wee country”. Presumably so as to avoid clichés, historical links between France and Scotland are hardly mentioned. Only once does the reader come across the figure of Mary Stuart, during a visit of Chenonceau, but what the reader remembers is the word written long ago by a soldier of the Scottish Guard on a wall: HAME. A word steeped in emotion which, unexpectedly, carries the visitor back in space and time while suggesting the tensions of exile (227). The spelling of the word gives it an intensely Scottish connotation and, as it were, signals the intrusion of the mother-country and the permanence of roots. Inevitably, the encounter brings to mind a remark by an American that the two travellers have overheard: “I always think you can find a lot about yourself away from home.” (115) In that sense, the painful break I mentioned at the beginning of this paper would signify a false departure, a form of stepping back in order to assess where you are. This is also the conclusion drawn by Moira Burgess in her essay on modern Scottish fiction and the continent. “Si les personnages d'un roman écossais se rendent en France, c'est, croit-on, parce qu'ils vont en vacances, partent à l'aventure, ou veulent se changer les idées, mais c'est la découverte de soi qui est toujours au bout du voyage13. ” Here lie the paradoxes of travelling: the quest for what is new may be the first motivation but amnesia does not exist. Places, names, memories always take you back to your country of origin, to your identity. There is always a signboard to remind you that the town you are crossing is twinned with another, in Scotland. You believe you are abroad but, maybe, you have never left home, your country, not only because the latter travels with you but also because travelling abroad only serves to highlight familiar scenes. Foreign Parts is a deceptive invitation to travel. Not only does the narrative insist more on the frustrations of travelling, but it pays more attention to the discovery of oneself than to the investigation of new geographic territories. Distance helps you get a better view of your country and of yourself. The foreign parts may not be so foreign after all since they include the past, the other sex, friends and partners, all of them parts of individual identity. The book

192

Two Scottish Women on the Continent: Janice Galloway’s Foreign Parts

may question the validity of travelling abroad only in so far as it may be disconnected from your personal experience, and this is impossible. What the experience highlights is the fundamental contribution of home to the building of identity. And the latter includes your nation and country, your family background, your language, your friends. There is no better place than home? Maybe, but you have to leave it first, if you have any chance of finding out.

Notes 1

All references to the Vintage edition, London, 1995. Cairns Craig, Out of History, Polygon, Edinburgh, 1996. The book opens with the following words : “Parochial: the word has haunted discussion of Scottish culture ; it damns us before we start because we must leap in desperation to join ‘the world’. 3 The quotation is an extract from a short story on the subject of writing. «Warming my hands and telling lies », Now that you’re back (1994), London, Vintage, 1995, p. 163-64. 4 Public appearance at the British Council, Paris, 2 June 2004. 5 Janice Galloway, “Tongue in my Ear : on writing and not writing Foreign Parts”, The Review of Contemporary fiction, Dalkey Archive Press, Chicago, 1995. 6 Janice Galloway, “Poet’s Parliament: a selection of writers’ views on the new Scottish Parliament”, Edinburgh Review, n°100 (1999), p. 72. 7 Jean Baudrillard, Le système des objets, Paris, Gallimard, p.95. 8 Tourism is often blamed for a false representation of the country. “Perhaps ‘Scotland’ is simply something invented by the heritage industry and the Scottish Tourist Board?” asks David McCrone in Understanding Scotland. The Sociology of a Stateless Nation, London, Routledge, 1992, p18. 9 The original title of Truffaut’s film is Les deux Anglaises et le continent. English title Anne and Muriel. The American title was Two English Girls. 10 Julian Barnes, Flaubert's Parrot, 1984. Like Foreign Parts, Flaubert’s Parrot is rooted in contemporary France. Both imply the same quest for meaning. Flaubert’s Madame Bovary is one of the books Cassie has taken with her. The choice is not insignificant since the book is very much about feminine emancipation and escape. 11 Pierre Bourdieu, La misère du monde, Paris, Le Seuil, 1993. 12 Kate Kellaway in The Observer, 17 April 1994. Review of Foreign Parts. 13 Moira Burgess, "C'est si loin", La Nouvelle alliance. Influences francophones sur la littérature écossaise moderne, edited by David Kinloch and Richard Price, Grenoble, Ellug, p180. 2

MURIEL SPARK: A EUROPEAN NOVELIST FROM SCOTLAND JACQUES RABIN, UNIVERSITY OF HAUTE-BRETAGNE, RENNES 2

A prolific novelist, poet and short-story writer, Muriel Spark is a moralist who draws the reader’s attention to the vagaries of human behaviour. She never openly condemns her characters’ behaviour; instead, she casts a critical and amused glance at the world around her, and, often taking her inspiration from glossy magazines1, she recreates reality with imagination, humour, and verbal economy. Often accused of exaggeration, she replies indirectly in Loitering with Intent: “When I first started writing, people used to say my novels were exaggerated. They never were exaggerated, merely aspects of realism”2. These are the words of the protagonist, Fleur Talbot, but they could be Mrs Spark’s: everything, indeed, is relative and a matter of degree. Undoubtedly, to the common she prefers the unusual, even the uncanny and the fantastic, reminding the reader in the semi-autobiographical short story, “The House of the Famous Poet”, that “truth is stranger than fiction”. However strange the world of her novels may be, it is recognizable and identifiable. What she paints is unmistakably contemporary Europe with its lots of contradictions, irrationalities, and even absurdities. M. Spark’s characters are our contemporaries, men and women of our postmodern times. The internal chronology confers on them precise existences whose beginnings and ends can be dated with the accuracy of an official register, and which are set against an external, accepted chronology: the end of World War 2 in The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie and The Girls of Slender Means, the death of Noel Coward in The Takeover, or the death of King Boris of Bulgaria in Territorial Rights, etc. Those references dispel any possible doubt as to the contemporaneity of the characters. They may all be fictitious characters, they are our contemporaries, unquestionably anchored in our present world, whose barbarity and violence, decadent mores, and false values the novelist has chosen to retain. And they all live in European countries. With the exception of two novels, The Hothouse by the East River and The Mandelbaum Gate, whose action is set respectively in New York and in the

194

Muriel Spark: A European Novelist from Scotland

Middle East, all of the other twenty novels are set against a European background: Great Britain before 1965 (with the exception of Robinson, her second novel, whose action takes place on an imaginary island in the Atlantic), Italy as from 1966, when M. Spark settled in Rome, with forays into Switzerland (Geneva in Not to Disturb), France (Epinal, which shelters Georges de la Tour’s painting, Job raillé par sa femme, providing a fit setting for The Only Problem with its protagonist obsessed with the biblical mystery of Job and his sufferings). Great Britain is revisited as from 1974, and the setting is enlarged in the last two novels, Aiding and Abetting, which follows Lord Lucan’s wanderings all over Europe before the action settles in Paris, and The Finishing School set on the banks of Lake Geneva again, but in Lausanne this time. Contemporaneous and European M. Spark undoubtedly is through the places she visits in her fiction, but also through the themes she explores. Geographically, Muriel Spark’s Europe stretches from her native, chilly and austere Scotland down to sunny and warm Italy. The reader would look in vain for detailed descriptions of the places she evokes: they are always brief and functional, if any are given at all. More often, places are merely named–London, Paris, Rome–for information, in order to set up the backcloth. What the Scottish novelist is interested in is the characters and their behaviour, particularly if they are odd. The Sparkian world is made up of the most negative aspects of the real world, especially of elements which reason is powerless to explain, such as evil or supernatural occurrences. A typical Sparkian narrative combines realistic and unrealistic elements: it mixes plausible and recognizable facts drawn from real life with dubious, if not downright unbelievable, ones which the reader has no choice but to accept. However irrational the demeanour, there is enough basic rationality in each character for them to be recognized as members of our society. Their lives are now banal, now exceptional, and many end tragically. In a fragmented society in perpetual agitation, the unexpected and the uncanny lurk, and the normal rubs shoulder with the abnormal; there is no barrier between the real and the unreal, and individuals are private worlds drifting side by side, occasionally meeting or colliding according to circumstances which they try but fail to control, but which eventually crush them. Most of the main characters are British – English and Scottish. The people they meet are of the most diverse nationalities, according to their functionality: first come English speakers – Americans, Australians, and a Canadian (in The Only Problem), whose bilingualism is useful in his dealings with the French police and detectives (the only representatives of the French nation in M. Spark’s fiction); his two wives are English. Among the other nationalities can be found a number of Italians, and a Swiss count and countess whose secretary is Russian; the nationalities of their motley team of servants are not defined, but the first names suggest a great variety of origins. Among the

Scotland and Europe, Scotland in Europe

195

least common nationalities are a Belgian in the first novel, The Comforters, a Dutchman who speaks a picturesque brand of English in Robinson, a German nun whose coarse English contrasts sharply with the refined language of the eponymous heroine of The Abbess of Crewe, and rare in M. Spark’s fiction, an Ethiopian student in Territorial Rights, in which the protagonist is a young Bulgarian artist. To these various characters one should add a Cypriot husband who regularly beats his English wife in the course of noisy and violent quarrels which entertain the inhabitants of the block of flats in which Nancy Hawkins lives in A Far Cry from Kensington. All those foreigners speak English in various degrees of correction and to varied results, and their imperfect command of the language is often a source of hilarity for the reader. Beyond the comic effect, language is often used to define the characters’ identities and their feelings of alienation when they have to live or work in a culture which is not theirs – a feeling the Scottish novelist living near Florence no doubt knew well, although the uprooting had been her own choice. The reader, however, cannot help wondering whether the writer does not yield too easily to the temptation of raising an easy laugh when she paints those foreigners’ clumsy attempts at speaking English, however true they may sound. Besides, stereotypes are never far: those Mediterranean men and women are often represented as superficial, noisy and easily roused to anger, genuine or feigned; they tend to be dishonest, vain, lascivious and, if they belong to the lower classes, always ready to trade their charms whatever the sex of the partner, providing he or she has money. Italian lawyers are all corrupt and engaged in double-dealings under two or three different identities. To Muriel Spark’s defence it has to be said that, apart from a few exceptions, British men in her novels are scarcely more honest than Italian men. M. Spark seems to hold a poor opinion of men in general. In Muriel Spark’s fiction sex is given a leading part. Young or old, her characters, whether they are from the North or from the South of Europe, are all driven by an obsessional urge to satisfy their sexual desires. Couples form and split apart at high speed or, if cohabitation persists as is often the case in early novels, it is only out of habit or interest, and often covers up shameful liaisons or activities. On the verge of senility, Geoffrey Colston, in Memento Mori, can still provide himself with a few erotic thrills for a pound in exchange for a few glimpses of female flesh–his governess’s ankle or his own son’s young mistress’s more generous surfaces–while still living with his wife, who is no saint either. Patrick Seaton, a talented medium according to some, a rogue according to others, exploits honest and consenting Alice’s infatuation with him in The Bachelors, while unashamedly entertaining murderous thoughts and plans against her. A decade later Muriel Spark goes much further when she stages (dialogues have all but eliminated narrative parts) the sexual excesses of Château Klopstock on the banks of Lake Geneva in Not to Disturb: there sex is

196

Muriel Spark: A European Novelist from Scotland

the common hobby amongst servants and masters, although the tastes of the latter are less ‘common’ than those of the former: the count not only arranges for pornographic films to be made in his château with the participation of his staff, but, according to his butler, he is also a paedophile who runs a paedophiliac network. The novel was published in 1971, and contains all the ingredients that still spice up the press three decades later. Another reflection of our times and of the evolution of mores in Europe can be found in the presence in most novels of homosexual and bisexual characters. In the early novels homosexuality is only hinted at or suspected by other characters: the homosexuality of Ernest Manders, Ronald Bridges or Freddie Hamilton is never clearly established. As from The Takeover, which denounces the dishonest practices of the rich, the veil is lifted, and the characters make no bones about their sexual orientations: Hubert Mallindaine has no fewer than four ‘secretaries’–a euphemism for ‘kept boys’-amongst whom Lauro, who is also much solicited by Maggie, a fabulously wealthy American lady married to a no less wealthy Italian count, which count does more than glance at Lauro. This sexual imbroglio becomes even more intricate when Maggie’s daughter-in-law is raped–but is it a rape?–by Lauro, who also sleeps with her husband on a regular basis. The explosive potential of such a situation heightens considerably when Lauro starts blackmailing his victims. Sex and finances go hand in hand in Muriel Spark’s novels. Sex is the drive behind many characters’ actions; for others it is the means by which they satisfy their greed. In either case, love does not enter into it. The world Muriel Spark paints is a dehumanized one in which violence, individual or collective, reigns. When it is individual, it is motivated by greed or jealousy–as in Peckham Rye, or Not to Disturb–or it is the work of a psychopath, as in The Driver’s Seat. Collective violence is shown on a European scale in the form of World War II. It is the very basis of the plot of The Girls of Slender Means: the young lady residents of the May of Teck Club in London have survived the war and the bombings of the capital only to find death in the accidental explosion of a bomb buried under the building. The same war forms the background to Territorial Rights: Lina, a young Bulgarian artist, has come to Venice in the hope of finding the grave of her father killed during the war under mysterious circumstances. She leaves at the end of the novel before she discovers that perhaps her father was not the hero she imagined, but as is often the case in M. Spark’s novels, the main facts are never clearly stated: who killed Victor Pancev? His ex-mistresses who had the body cut in half by a local butcher so that each of them could look after the beloved remains in separate graves? Or the wealthy American, Mark Curran, who is blackmailed by Robert, a young English student whose favours Curran had enjoyed while they both lived in Paris? Curran does not hesitate to pay the huge sum of money

Scotland and Europe, Scotland in Europe

197

asked for, but he may simply do so for fear of being exposed as a homosexual. The truth is revealed neither to the reader nor to Linda, who is shown in the last pages of the novels dancing unknowingly on the grave of her father. It is thus less the war itself on which the reader’s attention is focussed than the numerous personal tragedies it has caused and continues to cause. Should the dead, who may have been heroes only in the memories of those who hardly knew them, be forgotten while the living got on with their lives? The novel ends in true Sparkian fashion by stating briefly what happens later to some of the characters: Robert, deprived of the fruit of his blackmailing by the butcher, becomes an international terrorist who spreads death liberally in various European countries–an echo, no doubt, of the Red Brigades and other terrorist organizations active in the seventies, when the novel was written. Ten years later in The Only Problem, the terrorist is a woman, Effie, Harvey Gotham’s wife or partner: she commits what Umberto Eco calls ‘revolutionary thefts and robberies’, lays bombs and eventually kills a French policeman before she falls under the bullets of the French police. Like terrorists in the seventies and eighties, her battlefield is Europe, and she acts in the name of an ideology based on flawed principles. Her world is directly opposed to Harvey’s: she is evil acting under cover of woolly ideologies, while he lives like a hermit, engrossed in the problem of the presence of evil and suffering in the world–the only problem in his eyes, and in M. Spark’s, worth studying. Like Harvey Gotham, Muriel Spark has always been obsessed with the figure of Job and the question of evil and suffering. This preoccupation figures prominently in her early novels, where it is linked with religious problems. On her own admission, her conversion to Roman Catholicism in 1954 provided the peace of mind that liberated her creativity; however, it did not assuage all her worries, and her fiction resonates with metaphysical questions. Her novels paint a world that has lost all sense of sacredness, and echo the criticisms usually levelled at the Church by non believers, particularly regarding religious practices, which are presented as verging on superstition. Religion appears as devoid of meaning and is often ridiculed. Reflecting the evolution of European mentalities, its importance decreases novel after novel. Priests and nuns appear as mechanical agents of the religion they represent; they have often lost their religious faith themselves, although they continue to preach it; and far from being models of rectitude, they indulge in the same vices as their flocks, whom they manipulate shamelessly. They have lost all dignity, unlike another great manipulator, Muriel Spark’s immortal creation, Jean Brodie. Born in Edinburgh like her creator, Jean Brodie sees herself as a true European: ‘We of Edinburgh owe a lot to the French. We are Europeans’3, she declares to her brood of protégés, ‘la crème de la crème’ as she likes to call them, while they discover the Old Town. And a European she is not only by her

198

Muriel Spark: A European Novelist from Scotland

religious eclecticism-although she has no truck with Roman Catholicism, a religion only fit for those ‘who can’t think for [themselves]’4-but above all by her European culture–she is particularly fond of Italian paintings-and her boundless admiration for fascist ideology. This European movement suits the Edinburgh spinster who ‘thinks she is Providence, […] thinks she is the God of Calvin, […] sees the beginning and the end’5 of the young lives entrusted to her and which she wants to fashion in her own image. She spends her holidays in Germany and Italy, and when she returns to Edinburgh and the classroom, she spends much time extolling to her bewildered brood the feats of Mussolini’s Black Shirts, until one day one of her former pupils ‘betrays’ her, as Jean Brodie sees it, by revealing to the Headmistress her former teacher’s political leanings. Forced to go into early retirement, Miss Brodie dies of cancer shortly after that: the teacher who took herself for God was after all only made of flesh and mortal. Death is everywhere in Muriel Spark’s works. As the Latin title of her third novel, Memento Mori, reminds us, life leads to the grave, and the existential problem of the finality of life is raised novel after novel: where does it come from, what is the use of it, since we are not free to lead it as we wish? It often seems to be directed from the outside and, hard as one might try, one is powerless to alter its course. The end is ineluctable, only the manner of it may differ: violent for some, slow for others and accompanied with its procession of grief, pain, sufferings and decrepitude. Such is the human condition–absurd, once the consolation of religion has been withdrawn. However hard Jean Brodie and Sandy Stranger, more alike than they care to think, may try, they cannot rise above the common lot despite their strenuous efforts to reject the sense of destiny that the Calvinist religion has imprinted on their whole beings. How long will their influence upon their contemporaries last, Jean Brodie’s because of the print she leaves on the minds of her pupils, Sandy with her writings, the only possible challenge to the finitude of the human condition? Having rejected Calvinism, Jean Brodie tried other Christian sects, Roman Catholicism excepted; to emphasize her double rejection–of Calvinism and of Miss Brodie’s influence–Sandy Stranger becomes a Roman Catholic and embraces monastic life eagerly; the novel, however, ends with the image of “Sandy clutch[ing] the bars of her grille more desperately than ever”6. Like Muriel Spark herself, she may not have found in the Catholic faith all the answers she craved for. This sombre vision of a world created and run by an implacable deity who decides irrevocably on the fate of his creatures is enhanced by the re-creation in the early novels in particular of the dramatic and supernatural atmosphere of mediaeval ballads–in The Comforters, The Ballad of Peckham Rye, and more recently in Symposium, whose action is set in part in Scotland, where “All the families are odd, very odd”7, and where “people are more capable of

Scotland and Europe, Scotland in Europe

199

perpetrating good and evil than anywhere else”8. The heroine, Margaret Murchie, is tired of having to put up with this national destiny, and wants to have a more active role. Like Miss Brodie or Sandy Stranger, she is determined to be the maker of her own fate: “‘I’ll tell you what,’ said Margaret, ‘I’m tired of being the passive carrier of disaster. I feel frustrated. I almost think it’s time for me to take my life and destiny in my own hands and make disasters come about.’”9 And she does, only to be frustrated once more by her mad uncle Magnus, around whose psychic powers the novel revolves: he seems to order from the asylum in which he is locked up the murders of a number of people, all connected with Margaret. The novel is strewn throughout with quotations taken from Scottish ballads; they draw around the facts and the characters a web of allusions and innuendoes in which devils, werewolves and mermaids are agent of evil, and distil a strange and supernatural atmosphere accrediting the telepathic malefic powers of Magnus and of his niece, whose protruding teeth evoke the legendary vampire. The reader is not allowed to forget Muriel Spark’s Scottish origin. Unpredictable and irrational demeanours that have been dictated by instincts and incontrollable urges and are incomprehensible to others, mad characters who dispense life and death liberally about them until an accident reminds them that they are not God, but also authors who, like the Three Moirae, create, let run, and cut off lives according to their whims, such are the tableaux painted by Muriel Spark in the course of a long career as a writer. For over fifty years she has carried her mirror across Europe and sent back to the reader in twenty-two novels a series of striking images reflecting life in Europe and its absurdities. No one is spared as she tells her often comic, but also tragic, stories with a definitely Scottish accent and intonation. She has put the whole range of her vast culture into her writing, although one cannot help expressing surprised at how few echoes of Italian culture can be found in the works of someone living near Florence-with the notable exception of Benvenuto Cellini’s La Vita, quoted in Loitering with Intent. Her Judeo-Christian sensitivity is European, even when it becomes stridently Calvinistic. Beyond the European fresco she has painted, however, it is the whole of the human condition she has represented, a new Comédie Humaine whose main actors, like most of their human counterparts, are not aware that it is comic and absurd. They deaden the pain of living by leading lives of pleasure and of “worldly dissipation”, to use Pascal’s words. Unlike Pascal, Muriel Spark is a novelist, not a philosopher, so what she gives us is images, not arguments, according to the distinction set up by Albert Camus, the absurdist philosopher. She has given us a huge work of art in diverse panels, every one of them different but all representing life which has become less Christian over the years but none the less absurd in all the acceptations of the term.

200

Muriel Spark: A European Novelist from Scotland

NOTE: At the time the colloquium was held in Toulon, Dame Muriel Spark was still alive. She left us only a few months later on 13 April of this year.

Notes 1 Interview with Philip Toynbee for The Observer Colour Supplement on 17th October 1965: ‘But I don’t read many novels, I love the glossies and the newspapers and the film mags; and that’s where I find a lot of my material’. 2 Loitering with Intent, Triad Granada, 1982, p. 64. 3 The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie, Penguin Books, 1985, p. 33. 4 Op. cit. p.123. 5 Op. cit. p.120. 6 Op. cit. p.128. 7 Symposium, Constable, London, 1990 ; p.87. 8 Op. cit. p. 159. 9 Op. cit. p.143-4.

THREE ASPECTS OF THE THEATRICAL LINK BETWEEN SCOTLAND & EUROPE: ALONG DAVID GREIG’S EUROPE AND OTHER PLAYS JEAN-PIERRE SIMARD, JEAN MONNET UNIVERSITY, SAINT-ETIENNE

As a performable reflection of society, contemporary theatre has played an artistic and cultural role for long in Scotland. Europe for instance may be seen as offering a threefold impulse to Scottish creativity. Themes are first concerned, as a close examination of David Greig’s plays, Europe particularly, will reveal how much the concept of periphery in Europe applies to the work of this playwright and others. Keeping in mind the national and international productions of that particular play, the present study will examine the reception of Scottish playwrights in Europe and the representations of Scotland their plays convey. Alternately, the reception of European theatre in Scotland, will be questionned through the frequent mediation, selective choice of Scottish playwrights. The modes of transfert within Scottish culture and languages of the European aesthetical and cultural values of playtexts will also be considered.

I Born in Edinburgh, D. Greig is now a major Scottish dramatist who associates writing alternative plays shared with the director and actors of the Scottish company Suspect Culture, or with 7 :84. The European and worldwide fame of the latter company dates from its origin with late regretted John McGrath1 and has been succesfully maintained by his successors. D. Greig also writes more individual plays such as Europe, the Architect or Victoria, for official reputed venues. His plays, which are translated and performed throughout Europe, were only too recently discovered in France with the staging of Europe in 1997 by the Théâtre Populaire de Lorraine. We shall examine their relevance to Europe. Entitling Europe2 a playscript allows an ironical and paradoxical representation of the continent as it focuses on citizens marginalized by global

202

Three Aspects of the Theatrical Link between Scotland & Europe

policies. A humanist say emerges from the plot. It confronts the local jobless with refugees from the Balkans war in a town at the borders of the European community, in the extreme east of Germany. Industrial activities have been dismantled and delocalized elsewhere and trains with travelling Western citizens don’t halt at the local station any more and are a temptation. The author explains3 the origin of the text as a reaction to neo-nazi aggression against Turkish immigrants in Germany where homes for single workers had been burnt down recently before. At the time when Scotland was not yet autonomous, the play metaphorized the uncertain prospects the younger generation was facing in peripheral Europe with poor expectations, and locally, of artists still influenced by the traditional Scottish pessimism about the genuine assets of their culture. Since then, much research work has underlined the rise of specific literary and artistic contemporary traits, now a cause for pride and European recognition. They are grounded on a new reading of cultural and historical popular assets largely aesthetized, since the 1970s, by J. McGrath, then by Liz Lochhead. Scottish culture was also promoted through new writing and staging policies, particularly at the Traverse Theatre, with a score of new playwrights, both male and female. And now the ultimate issue of this new established selfconscious fame is the newborn National Theatre of Scotland4. It will inevitably weigh further on the reception of Scottish culture abroad. The then dominant theme of escape is present in Europe and later plays. Leaving decaying Scotland to seek success in dynamic European capitals is a common view among young artists in the 1990s. Present not only in Europe (with the two daughters of the station master and the old Balkanese exiled worker), this theme can also be found in The Architect or Victoria. In Europe every pair of characters considers the tangled mixing of their lives. The two older fathers decide on staying in this decaying town at the forlorn borders of the continent and will die the symbolic victims of nazi arsonists while their two unaware daughters are fleeing west on a train, to live anywhere in Europe, Paris, London, Lisboa where their love affair will be tolerated and prospects seem swingingly attractive. In Victoria, Oscar’s local prestige lies in his former revolutionary contribution to the Spanish War against fascism. Long back in Scotland, he evaluates the local changes through the filter of his solidary commitments now considered obsolete by the younger generations, and particularly by his son, an entrepreneur. D. Greig symbolically makes the most of Oscar’s ashes at the end of the play. The latter had wished them to be buried with his comrades’ in Basque Spain. They certainly will be sent there by Oscar’s son, but mixed with gravel and stones in the concrete he produces and ships with stones to build the head offices of global companies. This metaphoric representation can alternately be read as a treason, or, one might say, a compromise. It definitely is a soar metaphore of ethic free expanding economic

Scotland and Europe, Scotland in Europe

203

exchanges within the European community too. Oscar would definitely have objected, as he had obstinately fought capitalism. His attempts throughout the play to stand or have someone younger stand as a communist candidate at the local election in the third section is also shown as outdated : no-one comes to the meeting in the local hall. Yet in the staged version of the play for the RSC, these direct political references were rubbed off. Such a premonitory evocation anticipates the resistance of a section of the population in Scotland since the referendum on autonomy, with a new opportunity of gaining seats for far left parties with the introduction of some degree of proportionality. In his J. McGrath like epic three hour long trilogy, the playwright introduces a multiplicity of themes grounded on the history of Humanity, and particularly of Europe and Scotland as seen from European standards such as the Empire, relations to Germany and Nazism or Spain and Franco, Argentina and Scottish diaspora, the deprecation of grand narrations and ideals, the evolutions of family ties, locality and roots, poverty or fame, future prospects when leaving and/or returning home, ecology fight for the preservation of nature. Through the locations in western Scotland, through the carnival like structure and the many characters, a diffuse intertext is a hommage to J. McGrath’s The Cheviot, the Stag and the Black, Black Oil, particularly after the parodic introduction in the narration of the plane crash which generates the new shaping of families and social relationships : The Oil technicians who died in the crash had come to prospect for an extension of the industry to the western part of the Highlands… thus continuing the last song of J. McGrath’s play : « and now… the west is next in line ». Historically, as no oil exploitation has occured, the symbolic destruction of the hill by Oscar’s son’s expanding quarry allows the theme of social strife to be presented, yet as exotically led by hippy ecologists. The jubilatory precision of Greig’s writing allows a multifaceted look on collective mistreatments of former ideals which revolt individuals. Other intertextual references are national with Trainspotting and could generate long developments about I. Welsh’s importance. Not only his novel and the play designed out of it were largely sold or performed to young non theatre going audiences throughout Europe -plus the worldwide success of the film– but D. Greig’s parody of it and more precisely of the official or popular reception of this provokative artistic case in Scotland allows audiences to examine it with distancing humour. He particularly criticizes Welsh’s exile to Holland, in Caledonia Dreaming, in which he objects to his static vision of exclusion, when at the same time, the train flight Billy and Martin dream of in The Architect as well as Dorothy’s cathartic hitch-hiking lorry escapes , as well as the two girls’ train ride westward in Europe clearly evoke the characters’ flight in Welsh’s novel or play, yet without any reference to drugs. Billy and Martin are close to the desperate heroes in Trainspotting, one of whom finally

204

Three Aspects of the Theatrical Link between Scotland & Europe

returns home, like the three emblematic central character’s in David Harrower’s Kill the Old, Torture their Young. Gregory Burke’ second play, The Straits also articulates a conflict between teenagers, but in Gibraltar. In a male dominated microcosme, the confontation of the local British and Spanish teenagers echoes the British imperialist war on the Falkland Islands. Fully inscribed in the present context of a less popular and attractive neo-liberal European community, this play could have been cheered by the committed alternative or state of the nation playwrights of the 1970s and 1980s. Contemporary in that it centres on the intimate microcosme and locality with national concern as a diffuse background, it nonetheless, as they did, interferes with national and international stakes. Yet, Burke insists that no character speaking for the playwright would now tell the audience : « you must do this, or people must do that. ». David MacLennan confirmed my views when he paid a tribute to that play during the Gathering. With similar workingclass and jobless origins, Henry Adam expresses a similar desire to escape. The People Next Door is set in a suburban house in London in the context of confronting islamist terrorism and British Secret Service in the very period of September 11. Manipulations intrude and threaten three solitary characters urged by the need to build up a family. An old grumbling Scottish lady figures the symbolic mother Nigel and Marco choose. She will in the end strike the menacing secret agent on the head to protect their alternative provoking newborn family. A mama belonging to the Scottish diaspora - who recalls many of J. McGrath’s or D. Greig’s old mamas – joins with a young Pakistani immigrant and his teenage gay Cartibean companion. Henri Adams subtely installs his sympathy raising characters within the social context of peripheral representative Britishness. Such diversity actually reflects the present general stake in Europe of integrating local peripheries: immigrants, regional minorities -Scots in the present case- and Gays. Marco will kill Phil, the agent, to save Nigel, that Phil had blackmailed for drugs taking into infiltrating a Muslim community suspected to be linked with terrorists through Nigel’s half brother. Phill menaces Nigel when nastily relating how the French police had recently coldly, and remorsely killed his brother in Provence, allegedly threatening them, a contention contradicted by the facts related in the play5. This insertion within a theatrical fiction of fictionized reality about the Finsbury Park Mosque group and the 1985 terrorist coups in France clearly inscribes the play as a contemporary European docudrama, although fiction is primarily dominant and establishes a relation of ironical complicity with the informed audience when Nigel appears naïve and unaware of those events and of the synchronic September 11 ones. When he seems seduced by the respectful sollicitude and friendliness of the Islamic community, the public fed with television information is led to analyze how such a situation can be used to turn victims of

Scotland and Europe, Scotland in Europe

205

racist exclusion in the European community into activists. Nigel accuses the British Services for his destabilization. The contrasting intimacy built up by three social outcasts relies on a collective plausible lie to the inquiring officers into Phil’s ‘suicide’. This reversed assault to truth is presented as a fair compensation to Secret service manipulations that had endangered Nigel’s mental and physical integrity. Such a denouement, a theatrical artifax, allows the playwright, beyond an underlying political provocation, to celebrate the Scottish mama figure in exile. « I owe my life to that plucky Scottish grandmother », Nigel concludes. The last short scene (scene 18), shows ‘the picture of domestic bliss’ with the new threefold reshaped family in Nigel’s flat, says the ultimate stage direction, while television announces Tony Blair’s departure to the Azores where he will contribute to the American imperial led coalition into the Second Gulf War against the opinion of a large majority of local and European people. This ultimate intrusion of reality echoes Thatcher’s with the Falkland’ war in G. Burke’s play. Cinema or visual arts, music confirm this intimacy of Scottishness and Europe. The reputation of K. Loach’s Glasgow trilogy, with screenplays by Glaswegian writer Paul Laverty is the most striking recent example6. Like most of the theatre plays evoked previously, the image of Scotland mediated in these films echoes the vision European audiences have of their own nations, facing similar problems. Such sincere, sensitive and often commited neo-documentary artistic creative work has definitely overshadowed commercial tartan culture for touring crowds. Intimate social chronicles, violent and painful as they can be, have a lively and humourous rhythm too. The energy peripheral characters show inspires respect and compassion, and attraction to such Scottish aesthetics. It allows, as J. McGrath put it, « a Good Night out ». Trainspotting with its acidhouse musical pieces similarily thrilled teenage and young adult audiences throughout Europe.

II For the young dramatists of the 1990s and the emerging new generation now, the choice to produce their works in Scotland is deliberate. D. Greig or D. Harrower chose never to leave Scotland. The meeting the Gathering testifies of today’s importance of Scottish Theatre in Europe and defines its national specificity and identity and a prospective evolution of its forms. Made with individual careers this obvious history in the making of Scottish theatre is grounded on aesthetic, cultural and ideological common bases. Gregory Burke grew up in Gibraltar and came back to Scotland when sixteen. Commissioned by the National Theatre in London, he asserts that he owes to the fight of Scottish playwrights of the former decades the European wide fame he has

206

Three Aspects of the Theatrical Link between Scotland & Europe

gained since his play Gagarin’s Way was created, first at the Traverse Theatre in Edinburgh in 2001, and then, with greater success even throughout Europe, and particularly in Paris and other national venues in France. The preoccupation with gay representation is more recent in that nation than elsewhere. It should be related to many cases of violent harassment by macho extremist hooligans in the late XXth century. C. Deans, who chaired the Scottish Society of Playwrights reminded the audience at the Gathering that, aged 20, feeling unable to reach a serene life at home, he had opted for exile and fled to more friendly cities, Berlin, Hungary and Barcelona, finally to realise that « in the middle of the nineties, I felt I couldn’t live there and wanted to come back to Scotland7 ». What had kept him away from home is the moral tightness preventing in Scotland a gay playwright from asserting his sexual identity in his writing and more, from having his plays staged by a company there, and, of course, subsidized. This only became possible at the end of the 1990s, when, in London for instance, the Gay Sweatshop festival had existed since the early 1970s. G. Burke humourously confirms the spell to return home, evoking a sense of identity strongly focused around the national popular language and culture: « we can swear in Scottish, we’re better swearers than them in England n’ abroad ! » Back to Scotland, C. Deans collaborated with 7 :84 Theatre company in Glasgow thus beginning to obtain recognition as one of the promising playwrights of a definitely original Scottish theatre, now clearly identified and accepted within European cultural and theatrical communities. The playwrights of the 1970s and 1980s were at the origin of the gradual rise of consciousness of a widely lyrical, epic and musical Scottish theatre that was both draining vitality from its national roots and aesthetically innovative. They had decisively revived former valuable plays scorned and ignored for decades before8. Scottish theatre recently gained further recognition through the many conferences and books by researchers following J. McGrath’s death9. It can also be read from critical writing10. The acknowledgement by the Scottish population at large of such assets of their theatre defining a new form of Scottishness within the rich diverse and coherent European cultural landscape was analyzed at the Gathering. Having contributed to popularizing D. Greig’s Europe with Stephanie Loïk’s production at the Théâtre populaire de Lorraine and invited the playwright to conferences there, I must acknowledge that echoes didn’t then meet with the quality of the writing in 1996. It is by the turn of the millenium, with the production of David Harrower’s Knives in Hens11 that European attention was drawn on new Scottish contemporary theatre. Themes partaking of rural myths, both local and universal, and a striking syncopated poetic form of writing seduced European audiences and directors. Soon after, the press and cultural impact of G. Burke’s Gagarin’s Way at the Edinburgh Fringe festival in 2001 almost immediately favoured its transfer to the continent,

Scotland and Europe, Scotland in Europe

207

notably France12. European venues now pay attention to new plays from Scotland. They are soon translated into French or German and produced. The lattest case is Zinnie Harris’s Further than the Furthest Thing13. European beforehand, the play confronts Napoleonic or Victorian archaïsm on a remote island in the Atlantic Ocean. Supposedly threatened by a volcano eruption the local population is froced to emigrate to England to fall the victim of traumatizing modernity, of poor salaries and living conditions imposed by global companies. It clearly refers to the real case of Tristan Da Cunha’s inhabitants and now echoes the successful law case won inLondon by inhabitants of an island in the Indian ocean exiled to give way to British and American military bases. This theme had been twice previously used by J. McGrath in The Albannach and The Catch concerning American submarine bases in the Scottish Western Isles. The emotional strength of Zinnie Harris’s text lies, like Harrower’s in its archaïc poetic language and its cultural values. The population -hiding a trauma– also confronts an inquisitive tabloïd press. Yet, once new Scottish plays have been staged and acclaimed, the survival of playtexts becomes problematic. As Zinnie Harris said during The Gathering, the problem for young Scottish playwrights is that of hazardous publication –a question I discussed in Etudes écossaises Issue nb.10– She notices that France and Germany regularly publish translated Scottish playtexts thus allowing local venues and directors to stage them. European culture, indeed, seems to grant its due share to Scottish theatre, now conscious of its quality and traits, and contuity with past playwrights and productions, long ignored or undevalured by critics. The recent creation of a Scottish National Theatre may in that sense be considered as the institutional recognition of an identifiable national creativity and thus contribute to further European exchanges. It amplifies and prolonges the sixty year old European and worldwide attractivity of the Edinburgh festivals in August allowing teh emulative confrontation of local, British and European productions. Beyond local audiences, it too will appear as an international showwindow of national creativity. Yet, with European and national restrictive policies, it must be noted that to provide proper funding to that new central institution, heavy financial cuts are made elsewhere, and particularly endanger the rich potential developped since the seventies by touring companies. Despite the solidarity of local and European audiences through petition, Wildcat first and now 7:84 face subsidies drastic or total cuts from the Scottish Arts Council, a body which had always been reticent to touring theatre and had regularly tried to interrupt their crucial contribution in the past in the name of a rational running of unsufficient financial grants allowed to culture in Scotland. These companies, and others who will certainly be next in line for further cuts, are largely responsible for a national rooted theatrical consciousness, pride and development, favouring a

208

Three Aspects of the Theatrical Link between Scotland & Europe

sense of memory with their productions, establishing popular ties with regular tours everywhere in rural and suburban Scotland for audiences deprived of access to upper middleclass prestigious venues in the main cities. The responsibility of the Scottish Arts Council in this narrowing of national creativity must be underlined here again. It is as murderous, under the pretext of the emergence of the National Theatre, as if such an essential institution in the promotion of new playwriting as the Traverse Theatre were deprived of support in the future. D. Greig and D. Harrower contributed to draw public attention when they published a pamphlet in the Scotsman some years ago, to support Wildcat and 7 :84. The suppression of the Mayfest festival in Glasgow also was a negative move.

III Beyond such odds, many similar examples of which can also be found in the neo liberal policies of public cultural institution throughout Europe, a third aspect of artistic exchanges within Europe, and also with Canada, both French and English speaking, can be found in the way Scottish playwrights borrow from classical and contemporary repertoires in the French language. They adapt the cultural references of the plays to echoe the cultural experience of local audiences like J. McGrath in the past. Finding Scots equivalent to humour, song references for instance allows identification with prestigious or less famous playtexts. It consequently acknowledges Scottish culture as part of and equal to other European ones. Late Bill Findlay for instance popularized, through his translation into a local idiom, Michel Tremblay’s plays in Scotland and produced analytical work on such translations14. Liz Lochead too. After making Molière available to Scots, particularly with Miseryguts, adapted from Le Misanthope, She transcripted and adapted the Greek classics. After the acclaimed success of Medea, her latest adaptation Thebans, again for Theatre Babel whose self given mission aims at « rearticulating classical drama with a Scottish voice, lending ownership to these universally great works for the people of Scotland », triumphed at the Traverse Theatre during the 2003 Edinburgh festival. That company thus managed to adapt Shakespeare, Molière or Gogol before focusing on Greek drama. Their contribution to the Festival of Greek Theatre in Cyprus advertised in Europe their specific devotion to popularizing European theatre among Scottish popular audiences. Producing a Greek play in Scots on an international stage with worldwide audiences is most precious. The referential images associate the original Greek myth with popular Scottish culture references. Yet, Liz Lochhead and Bill Findlay are no exceptions. D. Greig and Suspect Culture’s Casanova is an alternative Scottish reinterpretation of this myth about male pretentious domination. The revenge of

Scotland and Europe, Scotland in Europe

209

women in the play is particularly savoured. The Traverse Theatre and the Edinburgh festival also first asked English playwright Martin Crimps to translate Bernard Marie Koltes’s plays into English ! Other such European exchanges in contemporary theatre owe to Scottish initiative. D. Greig assesses the heritage of Scottish and European playwrights in his plays. The Cosmonaut’s last message to a woman he once loved in the world takes after French playwright Bernard Marie Koltes’s Roberto Zucco. Brecht, without the reductive manicheist reading of the 1970s lies behind Petra’s Explanation and Europe, Behind The Architect, Tchekov and Ibsen are obvious models, with their vision of the family cell rich with unsaid reproach and latent or vivid conflicts15. Yet, as Phyllis Nagy writes16, each playwright is aware of thousands of plays which had preceded his own and anticipate future ones. This, she finds both desperating and comforting. Beyond the subtle permeability particularly among European playwrights, contemporary writing is informed by political or social changes in the societies which produce those plays, and reflects the prevailing ideas at the synchronic time of writing even when playwrights rebel against dominant values in a community. Playwriting is neither utterly solitary or narcistic. Beyond a microcosmic subdued form of political theatre expressing today’s ambiguous social wants, it also often reflects the popular poetic orality of a nation. It is particularly true of Scottish theatre since the 1970s. D. Greig confirms the European wide importance of a genre instaured by Ibsen who can be held as a pioneer in political and social modern playwriting. In the first version of Victoria a touring company in the Highlands, which clearly celebrates 7 :84 Company, actually performs Ibsen’s play Brand. The shift of plays is symbolic of the thematic shifts and the new focus on European culture. The Architect reverses Ibsen’s young architects’ failure into a threat: Young designers reject ageing Leo into framing by-structures, parking sites in their new urban development scheme. Sheena, a character embodying the rebellion of the inhabitants against the desperate state of their concil housing scheme and demanding their destruction, provokes Leo’s self denying rise consciousness…and her discussion with him, soon before his suicide, could be interpreted as a shift and paradoxical hope contesting Ibsen’s desperation, as she sollicits Leo to tutor her and help her in her desire to become an architect and build new housing that would satisfy popular demands. Yet the double theatrical and symbolic physical fall of romantic heroes in the play, Billy first, then Leo, meets with Ibsen’s mood. Greig’s writing, fully original is both a continuation of and a twist to Ibsenism. The recurrent obsession to amend a Fault by reconsidering one’s origins is also definitely ibsenite. Beyond, Act one Scene nine metaphorically continues this suicide theme with the evocation of the death of a lorry driver in the middle of nowhere in the Sahara desert against the

210

Three Aspects of the Theatrical Link between Scotland & Europe

sole tree for hundreds of miles around on a background of moral solitude and endless sands. It seems to me a humorous parody of Samuel Beckett’s mixed Irish and French philosophical desperation at work in Waiting for Godot. The rapid survey through some remarkable examples in the present article of the three dimensional cultural exchanges between Scotland and Europe focuses on a few plays and artists I hold as particularly important. It certainly is not exhaustive. It contributes to reveal a growing confidence of a majority of Scottish artists in the authenticity of their culture, and particularly of their theatrical productions and writing in the present early decade of the twenty-first century. It acknowledges growing permeability between playwrights, venues and audiences throughout Europe. Not only do Scottish artists not leave their home and nation any more, except for confrontations and dialogue, but they now pledge for a collective right of interference into the national definition of artistic policies to allow their works to be presented without restriction. It is important when the new born National theatre of Scotland is preparing to herald Scottish theatre in Europe and the world.

Notes 1

Petra, Caledonia Dreaming, Casanova belong to this kind of collectively inspired writing. 2 Europe (1994), The Architect (1996) & The Cosmonaut’s last Message… (1999) in David Greig, Plays : One introduced by Dan Rebellato, London, Methuen, 2002. 3 At a conference to 250 French students at Metz University in Lorraine when the play was staged at the Théâtre populaire de Lorraine. 4 Three critical pieces must be referred to here : Scottish Theatre since the Seventies, edited by Randall Stevenson & Kevin Wallace, Edinburgh University Press ; Etudes écossaises Issue nb 1O, JP Simard, ed., Grenoble, ELLUG, March 2005; The Gathering, a set of four DVDs, each around one decade since the 1970s, edited after a conference by the Scottish Society of Playwrights at Queen Margaret Unversity College on February 5 2005. 5 Scène 17, p.75-77 6 My Name is Joe, Sweet Sixteen, and Just a Kiss have reached success in France and were presented, and honoured, at the Cannes International film festival. 7 Testimony at The Gathering. 8 I refer here to J. McGrath and 7 :84 or Wildcat companies with their contribution to the Glasgow Mayfest festival, particularly with the revival of workingclass Glaswegian theatre with their Clydebuilt Season, or Lindsay’s A Satire of the Four Estates. I recommend the contributions to Randal Stevenson & Gavin Wallace’s Scottish Theatre since the Seventies, Edinburgh University Press.

Scotland and Europe, Scotland in Europe

211

9 Already, prior to J. McGrath’s death, an issue of on line IJOST (Queen Margaret University College, Edinburgh) had been devoted to his influence. Among recent publications, I recommend Freedom’s Pionneer, edited by David Bradby & Susan Capon, with a foreword by Richard Eyre, Exeter, University of Exeter Press, 2004. 10 See among them nb 10, the latest issue of the yearly review Etudes Ecossaises, Grenoble, ELLUG, March 2005. 11 Produced soon after Scotland in Germany, Holland and France, and particularly with Claude Régy’s production at the Théâtre des Amandiers in Nanterre (National Theatre) in a translation by Jérôme Hankins. Two personal studies of that play can be found in Etudes écossaises, issue nb.7, The Strange, the Mysterious, the Supernatural, Grenoble, Ellug, 2001 : « Irrationnel et étrange, outils de l’initiation dans Knives in Hens de D. Harrower », p.83-96, or in Coup de théâtre issue nb. 20, Expression contemporaine et représentation(s) dans le théâtre anglophone, Paris, RADAC et EsTRADes/CIEREC, University of Saint-Etienne, march 2006, « De Knives in Hens, D. Harrower à Bogeyman, Daniel Keene, intertextualités et interspectacularité. », p.83-98. 12 Published in 2002 by Embarcadere Editions, Nointel, neatly rendered with its syncopated raw language in Dominique Hollier & Blandine Pélissier’s translation, the play was first produced and directed by Bertrand Brossard, at the Bonlieu Scène nationale, Annecy, then transferred to Paris and a tour of 5 national venues. 13 First created at the Traverse Theatre during the 2000 Edinburgh Festival, co-produced by the Traverse and the Tron Theatre, Glasgow, it was created in January 2005 in France at the Comédie de Caen and has toured French National theatres since then : SaintEtienne, Cherbourg, spring 2006 for instance. 14 Among his many books, I recommend the last : Frae Ither Tongues, Essays on Modern Translations into Scots, Clevedon, Buffalo, Toronto, Sidney, Multilingual matters, 2004. 15 D. Greig gave those clues in a set of conferences I had organised in Lorraine, in theatres and at the University of Metz to illustrate Stephanie Loïk’s staging of Europe. He specified that « The Architect was directly inspired by Ibsen’s the Master Builder ». After a long stay abroad, Ibsen matured his provoking writing aimed at a cultural change as well as a social one. Greig’s reference to him is symbolic for recent new Scottish writing for the theatre. 16 State of Plays, Playwrights on Playwriting, David Edgar, ed., London, Faber & Faber, 1999, p.123. .

PART IV SCOTLAND AND THE EUROPEAN UNION: POLITICAL ISSUES

SCOTLAND AND THE EUROPEAN UNION: HAS DEVOLUTION CHANGED ANYTHING? SCOTTISH EU INTEREST REPRESENTATION – A CASE STUDY MICHAEL TATHAM, UNIVERSITY OF OXFORD

Introduction1 It is now considered as commonplace to argue that devolution has represented, currently represents and will continue to represent one of the most ambitious reforms of the British political system. But, although it is hard to overstate the importance of devolution for both Scotland and the UK, it is much more difficult to assess what the impact of devolution has been on Scotland’s relation with the European Union (EU). Has this (domestic) reform of the British political system had any (external) spillovers in the European arena? In other words do domestic reforms (sphere A) have an impact on non domestic affairs (sphere B)? Figure 1: Do domestic systemic reforms have an impact in the European arena?

A

? interaction ?

B

Prima facie it appears that nothing much has changed. A quick look at the literature indicates that the themes of devolution and European affairs are almost systematically dealt with separately. And in most academic work on devolution its European dimension is neglected. Similarly, some theories of EU integration, intergovernmentalism for instance, confirm that domestic systemic political changes do not have any implications at all at European level. The European Union very much remains

Scotland and Europe, Scotland in Europe

215

the exclusive playing field of fully-fledged states. Only member-states have ultimate decision-making power. For example, though Scotland is geographically and demographically bigger than its Irish cousin, it cannot qualify to hold the EU presidency as Ireland did from January to June 2004, it does not have the diplomatic weight of its 7 votes in the Council and it cannot stall the entire treaty ratification process as was the case for the Nice Treaty. Devolution has not changed anything to this part of the story. If anything it has further highlighted Scotland’s comparative institutional weakness vis-à-vis other EU member states (see Table 1). Table 1: Scotland compared to three EU member states

Demography (million)

Geography (square km)

Economy (billion) £78 (GVA)

Council votes

MEPs2

Scotland

5

77,097

0

7

Malta

0.4

316

£3 (GDP)

3

5

Cyprus

0.78

9,250

£8.5 (GDP)

4

6

Malta and Cyprus

1.18

9,566

£11.5 (GDP)

7

11

Ireland

3.9

70,000

£100 (GDP)

7

13

EU

455

3,691,214

£6,554 (GDP)

321

730

However, despite this apparent status quo at European level, I argue that devolution has had an impact on Scotland’s relations with the European Union. Indeed, a large proportion of these relations take the form of formal and informal lobbying. I thus examine the case study of Scottish EU interest representation as an indicator of the nature of post-devolution Scotland-EU relations. In this paper, I first examine the paradoxical nature of the devolution settlement with regards to European affairs (I). I then focus on the question of the representation of Scottish interests within the EU (II). This enables me to assess to what extent Scotland’s EU interest representation has changed as a consequence of devolution, what its main characteristics are today, and what its implications are for Scotland3.

216

Scotland and the European Union: Has Devolution Changed Anything?

I. The paradoxical nature of the devolution settlement with regards to European affairs In order to answer the question of whether or not devolution has changed anything to Scotland’s relationship with the EU, the first step one has to take is to have a look at what the devolution texts themselves have to say about European affairs. The Scotland Act 1998 clearly classifies European affairs within Foreign affairs and thus considers it as a reserved matter. However, according to the Scottish Executive itself, “Approximately 80% of the functions devolved to the Scottish Parliament are also covered by an EU competence of some kind”4. This is one of the most obvious yet incredible paradoxes of the devolution settlement: European policy is de jure reserved to Westminster but many policy fields devolved to the new Scottish institutions are also de facto covered by the EU. Table 2 confirms the 80% figure and indicates that the overlap in competences is particularly strong concerning economic development, the environment, agriculture, fisheries, and social work. Table 2: Overlap between devolved powers to Scotland and EU policy competences5

PUBLIC POLICY PREROGATIVES: COMPARATIVE TABLE EU policy competences Devolved powers include6: include (graded from 1 to 4)7: education and training (comprising Public education 2 research and statistics, public registers and records) and life-long learning Movement of goods and services 4 Movement of Capital 4 economic development (and financial Competition rules 4 assistance to industry) Product Standards 4 Financial services regulation 4 Research and development 2 Regional development 3 transport (including the Scottish road Public transport 1 network, bus policy and ports and harbours) the environment (including natural and Environmental Standards 3 built heritage)

Scotland and Europe, Scotland in Europe

agriculture, forestry and fisheries health local government housing and local planning (including town and country planning) domestic affairs, law and justice (including most aspects of criminal and civil law, the prosecution system and the courts) police, prisons and Fire services social work

217

Agricultural price support 4 Industrial health and safety standards 3 Public health care 2 Regional development 3 Public housing 1 Movement of persons 4 Civil rights protection 2 Criminal justice 1 Policing and public order 2 Labour market standards 3 Social Welfare and pensions 2

Furthermore, devolution has also added another dimension to Scottish-EU relations: the Scottish Parliament, by virtue of its primary and secondary legislative powers has to transpose EU law into Scottish law when necessary. Paragraphs 53 and 57 of the Act stress that “(…) functions in relation to observing and implementing obligations under Community law” are transferred to the Scottish Ministers with the only restriction that “member[s] of the Scottish Executive ha[ve] no power to make any subordinate legislation, or to do any other act, so far as the legislation or act is incompatible with any of the Convention rights or with Community law”8. To summarize, it appears that the devolution settlement, despite supposedly drawing a clear line between devolved and reserved matters, in fact implicitly suggests that no such clear-cut division of prerogatives exists. As a result, instead of being a matter exclusively reserved to Westminster, European affairs are at the heart of the Scottish Parliament’s and Executive’s activities. The Scottish devolved administration thus shares most of its policy competences with the EU, and is required to observe and implement Community law. This can be a problem for a newly established democratic institution. Indeed, the Scottish Parliament and Executive were thus granted a popular mandate in policy fields over which they have neither exclusive nor autonomous authority9. The problem lies in the double fact that a) the Scotland Act does not institutionalize Scotland’s participation in EU affairs concerning any other public policy phase than the implementation one and b) the Scottish Parliament’s scope to legislate in devolved areas is restricted because under EU law – and according to its principles of “direct effect”10 and “supremacy”11 – domestic law must not conflict with EU law.

218

Scotland and the European Union: Has Devolution Changed Anything?

Because of this the question of the representation of Scotland’s EU interests becomes crucial. Indeed, efficient representation of these interests would partially compensate for the lack of Scotland’s formal decisional powers concerning EU affairs.

II. The representation of Scottish interests within the EU The idea at the heart of this paper is to map out the different access points of Scottish EU interest representation so as to better evaluate what impact devolution has had. I first study Scottish EU interest representation through the UK member state (A) and then turn to direct Scottish EU interest representation, independently from the UK (B).

A. Scottish EU interest representation through the UK Post-devolution, Scotland’s inclusion in the UK-EU policy-shaping process is regulated by a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) and Concordats on CoOrdination of European Union Policy Issues (Concordats). These documents, however, are neither legally binding nor enforceable. They are binding “in honour only” and to a large extent only provide general guidelines concerning information-sharing on EU business and promoting good communication between the devolved administrations and Westminster. Further than the MoU and the Concordats, I focus on three opportunity structures at member-state level to represent Scottish EU interests (see Graph 1). They consist of contacts and exchanges with and within: -

the House of Commons, the Cabinet, the UK EU permanent representation (UKRep).

Representation in the House of Commons. Devolution’s impact has been dual. The number of MPs representing Scotland has been cut from 72 to 59 in May 2005 as a direct consequence of devolution. However, the influence of these 59 MPs, and especially those members of the Labour Party, should not be underestimated. Indeed, Scotland has elected 40 Labour MPs12 who play a decisive role in the current Government’s majority of 65 seats13. The Cabinet, is at the heart of the UK-EU policy-shaping process. There, devolution has resulted in the creation of an extra Cabinet Committee14: the Joint Ministerial Committee on Europe (JMC(E)). The JMC(E) has become extremely important and functions as a forum for formal discussion of EU

Scotland and Europe, Scotland in Europe

219

issues by UK and Devolved Administration (DA) Ministers. In many ways it corresponds to an inter-governmental mechanism to broker consensus on the line to be taken by the UK at the EU level. It has been increasingly used and now meets monthly15. Post-devolution, the Secretary of State for Scotland is still a Cabinet ranking Minister and encourages cooperation between Edinburgh and London. Its mission is to represent Scottish interests on reserved matters which infringe on devolved ones and vice versa. The jury, however, is still out on the relevance of the post-devolution Scotland Office. Some claim that it “doesn’t rate at all anymore”16, and others that “we don’t use it as much as we should”17. The UK’s EU permanent representation. UKRep’s structure has not changed but because of devolution, of the MoU and of the Concordats it has had to enhance its cooperation with Scottish institutions. One example of that is the agreement by UKRep that the Scottish Parliament should have access to the briefing papers produced by its services for UK MEPs on EC/EU legislative initiatives18. UKRep is thus crucial to Scottish EU interest representation, especially in terms of intelligence gathering19. To summarize, it seems devolution has implied that the formulation of UK EU policy has shifted from being an intra-governmental process to a (mostly informal and secretive20) inter-governmental process, a quasi federal one. Moreover, though Scottish interests could still be neglected, it is now far more risky for Whitehall to overlook a democratically elected Scottish Parliament and Executive, accountable to the people of Scotland, and responsible for the implementation of EU law and policy. Three other elements can also help us understand why Scottish interests are better taken into account post-devolution. The first is what I term “the SNP scarecrow”. Indeed, the SNP has often made a case for “Independence in Europe”. It can thus be argued that it is in the Labour Party’s interest to be seen as accommodating as much as possible Scottish EU interests to indicate that a Labour Edinburgh administration is perfectly apt at representing Scottish interest within both the UK and EU. The second element is the fact that Labour is in power in both Edinburgh and London so incentives are high to keep conflict to a minimum. The third is that “devolution is the policy of this government”21, so it is in the interest of this government to make it work as best it can. As a result, Scottish interests are probably “disproportionally” [sic] well taken into account. As the former Head of the First Minister’s Policy Unit pointed out, “Scotland is a very important part of the UK, and politically important beyond its size. I suspect we get more out of it than we probably deserve to. And you have the benefit of a small sub-state having the clout of a big state”22.

220

Scotland and the European Union: Has Devolution Changed Anything?

Graph 1: Scottish EU interest representation through the UK23

COLLECTIVE EU POLICY-MAKING PROCESS (incl. Council Working Groups; Council of Ministers; Commission; European Parliament, European Court of Justice, European Central Bank and EU Presidency)

COREPER Ministries and the Government (mainly through the Cabinet, incl. COES and the SoS for Scotland, the EP & PD Committees, the JMC(E), and the MINECOR)

UKRep (& the UK’s National Parliamentary Office in Brussels)

National administration

House of Lords & House of Commons

(“home” civil service remains unified postdevolution)

SCOTTISH EU INTERESTS as identified by the Scottish Executive (esp. the First Minister and Deputy First Minister [responsible for external relations], the Minister for Finance and Public Services [responsible for the administration of European structural funds] the Ministerial Group on European Strategy created in June 2003, the External Relations Division, and any relevant Department for the policy issue at stake) and Scottish Parliament (esp. the European Committee, External Liaison Unit, and relevant Committees for the policy issue at stake)

SCOTTISH NON-GOVERNMENTAL (public, private, industrial and societal) INTERESTS

B. Direct Scottish EU interest representation Further than representing its EU interests through the UK, Scotland can also represent them directly (see Graph 2). I identify six possible channels of access for Scotland: -

The Committee of the Regions (CoR),

Scotland and Europe, Scotland in Europe

-

221

The Council of Ministers, The Commission, The European Parliament, Sub-state offices, and Trans-national and interregional networks.

Graph 2: Direct Scottish EU interest representation24 COLLECTIVE EU POLICY-MAKING PROCESS (incl. Council Working Groups; Council of Ministers; Commission; European Parliament, European Court of Justice, European Central Bank and EU Presidency)

Brussels Office

Trans-national and interregional networks

Committee of the Regions

(SEEUO and Scottish Parliament presence within Scotland House)

Council of Ministers

Commission

European Parliament

(and the EcoSoc when relevant)

SCOTTISH EU INTERESTS as identified by the Scottish Executive (esp. the First Minister and Deputy First Minister [responsible for external relations], the Minister for Finance and Public Services [responsible for the administration of European structural funds] the Ministerial Group on European Strategy created in June 2003, the External Relations Division, and any relevant Department for the policy issue at stake) and Scottish Parliament (esp. the European Committee, External Liaison Unit, and relevant Committees for the policy issue at stake)

SCOTTISH NON-GOVERNMENTAL (public, private, industrial and societal) INTERESTS

Scotland and the European Union: Has Devolution Changed Anything?

222

Currently Scotland has eight members in the Committee of the Regions, four of which are from the Scottish Parliament and Executive25. This is a noticeable change compared to the pre-devolution situation when only local government representatives from Scotland participated in the CoR26. The Council of Ministers. As a result of devolution and thanks to EU Treaty provisions (cf. art. 203 Maastricht) Scottish Ministers can participate in Council meetings and represent the UK Member-State and vote on its behalf27. As Graph 3 indicates, Scottish Executive ministerial presence at the Council has grown compared to pre-devolution Scottish Office ministerial attendance. This has strengthened Scotland’s voice in the EU especially as, as many SE officials indicate, “there are not many regions with access to the Council: this is rare. We have a foot in both camps, most other regions don’t”28. Graph 3: Scottish ministerial attendance at EU Councils29 18 16 14 12 10 8 6 4 2 0 1992

1993

1994

1995

Post-devolution Pre-devolution

1996

1997

1998

1999

2000

2001

2002

2003

2004 June 2005

The Commission. Interviews confirmed that devolution has had an impact on Scotland’s relations with the Commission. One interviewee clearly reflected this by stating that “we get listened to because we are part of the UK. But there is also increased interest in Scotland by EU institutions because of devolution. The Commission seeks to reach out at citizens, so the Commission wants to get closer and that’s what devolution is about. Quite often the Commission would like us to side with them against member states, for example on structural funds or agriculture. But we have to disappoint them”30. More significantly though, the Commission has to take Scotland’s interests into account when drafting new legislation for the simple reason that the Scottish institutions will then have to implement it. As another interviewee pointed out, Commission people “have got to stay in touch with us because of the fact that we can make legislation in Scotland, which is a consequence of devolution. Otherwise they will come up with policies and ideas in Brussels that just don’t fit with Scotland and that will cause inevitably more problems down the line because if they come up with something that just does not fit they will have to change it”31. For all these

Scotland and Europe, Scotland in Europe

223

reasons, devolution has meant that Scotland now has better access to and more influence on the Commission. The European Parliament. The conjunction of the shift to the proportional representation system with MEPs representing the whole of Scotland and the setting up of the Scottish Parliament has meant that Scottish MEPs now have a louder voice within the European arena. One MEP hence argued that devolution “has enhanced the status of Scotland in the eyes of the European institutions”32. Sub-state Brussels offices. The creation of the Scottish Executive’s EU Office (SEEUO) is a direct consequence of devolution. Though the officials of this Brussels Office are not free to lobby as much as they want, “because this is a reserved matter” they still attend Council meetings at both ministerial and official level and “lobby by going to see Commission officials and MEPs”33. Trans-national and interregional networks also play a part in promoting Scottish interests. Post-devolution Scotland has become a member of many such networks most of which are presented in Graph 4. The whole point of these networks is that it gives its members “a critical mass rather than being scattered”34. And there are some visible instances of their influence. For example, one SE official pointed out that RegLeg35 had “managed to get a meeting with Barroso, and they got it because they are a group. A Scottish Minister alone would never have got it”36.

224

Scotland and the European Union: Has Devolution Changed Anything?

Graph 4: Examples of Scottish memberships to European networks and associations in Europe37 INTER-REGIONAL NETWORKS:

REGIONAL CO-

AER CALRE CEMR CPMR CLRAE REGLEG COSAC NORPEC

AGREEMENTS:

OPERATION

Catalonia Tuscany North Rhine-Westphalia Bavaria

SCOTLAND

NORDIC-SCOTTISH ACTION PLAN & LINKS WITH THE NORDIC COUNCIL: Denmark Finland Iceland Norway Sweden Faeroes Islands Greenland

LINKS WITH OTHER UK DEVOLVED ADMINISTRATIONS: Welsh Assembly Northern Ireland Assembly (when reconstituted)

Overall, devolution seems to have substantially strengthened Scotland’s direct EU interest representation. Scottish ministerial attendance to the Council of Ministers has increased over time. In its quest for better regulation and extra legitimacy the Commission has substantially opened up to Scottish interests. Scotland’s MEPs now represent the whole of a democratically significant Scotland. The Scottish Executive has opened a Brussels office which benefits from the weight implied by Scotland’s capacity to pass its own primary legislation and implement EU directives. Finally, devolution has enabled the Scottish Executive and Scottish Parliament to join of a myriad of inter-regional and trans-national networks to further promote its interests within the European arena.

Conclusion My initial research question asked whether devolution has changed anything to Scottish EU interest representation and thus to Scotland’s

Scotland and Europe, Scotland in Europe

225

relationship with the EU. Taking the case study of Scottish EU interest representation, I argue that devolution has had a clear impact on Scotland’s relation with the EU. Scottish EU interest representation both directly to Brussels and through the UK has both dramatically changed and increased. And though Scotland still does not have a vote in the EU it certainly has a stronger, louder and more distinctive voice than it had pre-1999. Post-devolution Scotland benefits from many direct and indirect channels of access to the EU policy-shaping process. Of course, this wealth of routes does not imply that influence is systematically achieved. However, all interviewees, be they MEPs, SE officials, MSPs or SE Ministers, agreed that devolution has strengthened Scotland’s voice in both the UK and European arenas. The creation of the Scottish Parliament is one of the prime drivers behind the rise in Scotland’s international profile. For instance, a SE Deputy Minister highlighted that the creation of the Scottish Parliament has had a “(…) huge influence. I remember when I was still member of the CoR and the Scottish Parliament was set up in 1999, it really dominated, not just the CoR but the European Parliament too. People were talking about it. It was the first new Parliament to be created in years in Western Europe”38. Devolution has also meant that within the UK, the Scottish “card” now carries with it the legitimacy of a Scottish democratic process. As a SE official pointed out, “Whitehall now understands that there are distinctive Scottish interests and politics”39. Logically, devolution was systematically identified by interviewees as the main reason for the increased amount of Scottish EU lobbying. Though post-1999 Scotland is still a vote-less player in EU affairs, it has now become a far more influential one. This obviously throws back the question of whether Scotland would not be in a stronger position if it were an independent EU member state as opposed to a prominent but stateless nation. According to a 2005 YouGoV survey almost half of the Scots questioned agreed that an independent Scotland would be better off in the EU (see Graph 5). In the pre-devolution configuration of powers, I would certainly have sided with them. Post-devolution, I am rather more sceptic and would count myself in the 30% who disagree with such a statement. Indeed, most interviewees stressed that Scotland’s “main partner is the UK. (…) we have bigger clout with the UK. It is one of the bigger member states”40, suggesting that Scotland has a far better chance of achieving its EU goals in partnership with the UK rather than independently from it. Similarly, a Scottish Executive Deputy Minister also stressed that “to some extent we get the best of both worlds: we have the benefit of our own Parliament, our own Government but also, when it comes to issues in the Council of Ministers, we are able to influence the UK and have the clout of a large member state behind us as well”41.

226

Scotland and the European Union: Has Devolution Changed Anything?

Graph 5: An independent Scotland in the EU?42 An independent Scotland on its own would be able to win greater advantages from the European Union than Scotland as only part of the UK? Don't know Disagree Agree 0

5

10

15

20

25

30

35

40

45

50

Indeed, if Scotland was an independent EU member state it would then not be able to influence as much the all-powerful UK. As a result, it would definitely have less of an impact in the Council and the UK would probably adopt a different line on a number of issues, possibly voting against Scottish interests. This is especially clear if one takes a concrete example. For instance, Scotland has very high interests in the Common Fisheries Policy and in the Council negotiations setting the yearly total allowable catch quotas. In this policy field, the Council takes decisions using qualified majority voting, which means that a minority of member states can be technically overruled by a twothirds majority43. Post-devolution, the UK has accommodated Scottish fishing interests in its EU policy line. According to a SE official “the UK line on fisheries is not all that Scotland wants but at least it is maybe 90% of what we want, and we get all our [29] qualified majority votes in the right direction”44. However, if Scotland was an independent member state it would only have around 7 Council votes, i.e. next to nothing. Not only would Scotland become a near insignificant player in Council negotiations but England and Wales would almost certainly vote against Scottish interests in this policy field. Indeed, England and Wales have very low stakes in the fisheries industry and would probably prefer to negotiate tougher fishing quotas. Till now they have not done so, solely to accommodate Scottish interests. So, there is a strong possibility that the UK would vote against Scotland in a policy field where decisions have to be taken through the qualified majority procedure. An independent Scotland could thus be frequently overruled. As one former MSP put it rather bluntly when asked about an independent Scotland in the EU, “the grown up response is that yes, the children don’t sit at the same table as the big member states. That is the reality of it. The clout of the smaller member states is not substantial”45. One can then conclude that, concerning fisheries and other policy fields ruled by qualified majority voting, an independent Scotland would be in a weaker position in the European arena.

Scotland and Europe, Scotland in Europe

227

Notes 1 I would also like to thank Chris Hanretty and Timo Idema for helpful comments on an early draft of this paper. Usual disclaimers apply. For comments and feedback, please contact the author at [email protected] 2 “MEPs” as in Members of the European Parliament. 3 From a methodological point of view, this paper is based on extensive desktop research of primary and secondary literature and on three series of interviews in Scotland and Brussels with Scottish Executive (SE) officials, Members of the Scottish Parliament (MSPs), SE Ministers, MEPs, UKRep officials and Commission officials in March, September and December 2005. Over thirty semi-structured interviews were conducted. I gratefully acknowledge the limited financial support provided by St Antony’s College, the Department of Politics and International Relations and the Norman Chester Fund (all University of Oxford). 4 The European Governance White Paper, Joint Comments Scottish Executive and CoSLA, 27/03/02, p.15. 5 Drawing up such a table is trickier than it seems because the EU is involved in virtually every possible policy field but not to the same degree or extent. A convenient and simple tool to indicate the depth of EU involvement in its various policy domains is Simon Hix’ grading from 1 to 4 which specifies the degree of centralisation of decision-taking at EU level. Hix noted: 1 = no policy decisions are taken at the EU level; 2 = some policy decisions are taken at the EU level; 3 = policy decisions at both EU and non EU levels; 4 = most policy decisions at the EU level. 6 The Scotland Act lists, in Schedule 5, the matters that are reserved. Any matter not reserved, nor otherwise defined in the Act as being outwith the competence of the Parliament, is devolved. 7 The data concerning the column “EU policy competences” was adapted from Simon Hix, The Political System of the European Union, Palgravve, Second Edition, 2005, p. 20-1. Of course, EU competences also overlap with reserved matters but maybe not to such a striking extent. 8 See Scotland Act, paragraphs 34, 53, 57, and Schedule 4 part III (consequential modifications to sections 53 and 54). 9 As one SE official pointed out to me: “As the devolved competences overlap with those of the EU, it is imperative that we do play a part. We have to make sure that our devolution rights and prerogatives are not taken away by the EU”, interview with a SE official, September 2005. 10 The European Court of Justice first asserted the direct effect of Community law in a landmark judgement in 1963 in case 26/62, Van Gend en Loos v. Nederlandse Administratie der Belastingen, 1963, ECR 1. 11 Costa v. ENEL, case 6/64, ECR 585, confirmed such a doctrine concerning Community law. This case indicated that EU law takes superiority over national law in all areas in which EU law applies.

228

Scotland and the European Union: Has Devolution Changed Anything?

12

Plus one Conservative, eleven Liberal Democrats, 6 SNP and one “other”. See the House of Commons, Research Paper 05/33 General Elections 2005, 17 May 2005. 13 A good illustration of this is the bill introducing so-called “top-up” fees in Universities in England and Wales which passed only because a large majority of Scottish MPs voted for it. 14 A Ministerial Committee on Devolution Policy (PD) was also created as a result of devolution but does not deal directly with European issues. 15 As from December 2003 the JMC(E) also incorporates the Ministerial European Coordination Committee (MINECOR) which deals with presentational aspects of EU policy and also includes Ministers of the devolved governments. 16 Interview with a Member of the European Parliament (MEP), September 2005. 17 Interview with a SE official and a former Scottish Office official, September 2005. 18 See the European’s Committee 5th Report 2002, An Enquiry into Scotland’s Representation in the European Union, SP Paper 676, §57. 19 Interviews with John Purvis, Catherine Stihler, Brian Fitzpatrick, and SE Ministers and officials, March and September 2005. 20 The JMC(E) papers, minutes, discussions and other documents are never made public. Indeed, negotiations between the devolved administrations (DAs) and the UK Government are undertaken in a totally opaque and un-transparent way. 21 Interview with a SE official, September 2005. 22 Interview with Brian Fitzpatrick, former Head of Policy in the First Minister’s Policy Unit (1999-2000) and MSP (2001-3), March 2005. 23 24

Own data. Own data.

25 There are four full members – Hon Jack McConnell MSP (Scottish Executive), Nicol Stephen MSP (Scottish Executive), Cllr Keenan McCord (Local Authority) and Cllr Keith Brown (Local Authority) and four alternate members – Irene Oldfather MSP (Scottish Parliament), Nicola Sturgeon MSP (Scottish Parliament), Cllr Jim McCabe (Local Authority), Cllr Andrew Campbell (Local Authority). 26 Though the CoR has been heavily criticised for its lack of decision-taking powers and its inherent heterogeneity, the CoR is more or less consulted in every policy field, provides a “good link with the grassroots” (Interview with MEP John Purvis, September 2005) and is “good for developing transnational projects and joint ventures” (Interview with SE Deputy Minister, March 2005). 27 Since 1st July 1999, when devolution was put into practice, and up until June 2005, Scottish Executive Ministers have attended a total of 68 EU Council of Ministers meetings, leading the entire UK delegation on at least three occasions (See Douglas Alexander answering Mr. Salmond, House of Commons Hansard Written Answers for 12 Sept2005,pt48,(http://www.parliament.the-stationeryoffice.co.uk/pa/cm200506/cmhansrd/cm050912/text/50912w48.htm). For example, on 8 June 2000 and 12 February 2001 Nicol Stephen, in his position as Deputy Minister for Education, Europe and External Affairs in the Scottish Executive, led the UK delegation at Education Councils. See Mr. Vaz answering Mr. Swinney, House of Commons Hansard Written Answers for 26 Feb 2001 (pt 37) http://www.parliament.the-stationeryoffice.co.uk/pa/cm200001/cmhansrd/vo010226/text/10226w37.htm).

Scotland and Europe, Scotland in Europe

28

229

Interview with a SE official, September 2005. Data collected from the Scottish Executive online archives for the 1999-2005 period and from the House of Commons Hansard Written Answers for 10 Feb 1997 (see http://www.parliament.the-stationeryoffice.co.uk/pa/cm199697/cmhansrd/vo970210/text/70210w08.htm) for the 1992-6 period. Data for the 1997-September 1999 period was collected through email questionnaires sent to Scotland Office officials from the Department for Constitutional Affairs (October 2005). 30 Interview with a SE official, September 2005. 31 Interview with a SE official, September 2005. 32 Interview with MEP John Purvis, September 2005. 33 Scottish officials thus try to inject a “Scottish flavour” into EU policies. Interview with a SE official, September 2005. 34 Interview with John Purvis, September 2005. 35 The European Group of Regions with Legislative Powers. 36 Interview with a SE official, September 2005. 37 Own data. 38 Interview with a SE Deputy Minister, March 2005. 39 interview with a SE official, September 2005. 40 Interview with Brian Fitzpatrick, former Head for Policy of the FM’s Policy Unit, March 2005. 41 Interview with a SE Deputy Minister, March 2005. 42 Adapted from a YouGov/Daily Telegraph Survey April 2005 (YouGov questioned 1019 adults aged 18+ throughout Scotland online between 26th and 29th April 2005), see http://www.yougov.com/archives/pdf/TEL050101019_1.pdf 43 Or, more precisely, 232 votes out of 321 votes (i.e. the blocking minority must be of 90 votes). 44 Interview with a SE official, September 2005. 45 Interview with a former MSP, March 2005. 29

THE EUROPEAN COMMITTEE OF THE SCOTTISH PARLIAMENT: AN IMPORTANT FACTOR IN THE EUROPEAN PROCESS ELIZABETH GIBSON, MONTESQUIEU UNIVERSITY, BORDEAUX

The United Kingdom, which began its presidency of the European Union on July 1st 2005, six years to the day, after the official inauguration of the "new" Scottish Parliament, is a changed country. This presidency opened with many uncertainties over the future of the European Constitutional Treaty signed on December 2004 and concerning the prospects for the European Union itself. Significantly, the country endowed itself with a Cabinet minister in charge of European Affairs, a Scotsman, Douglas Alexander. In addition, since 1999, the country has launched a devolution process-which is neither a form of regionalization nor federalism-modifying the unitary nature of the Kingdom, without making it a federal state for all that. Originally it was not in any way a matter of sharing sovereignty but of simply granting a form of limited autonomy. Indeed, the Scotland Act 1998 reestablished a unicameral Scottish Parliament, clearly differing from Westminster Parliament at the origin of bicameralism1. Elected for four years, with 129 members, the Scottish parliament is endowed with limited legislative powers under Section 5 of the Scotland Act 1998 and a limited right to levy taxes. But if Westminster Parliament has delegated part of its functions, it has not for all that given up its sovereign power to legislate for the whole country. Indeed, it has kept its general legislative powers for issues falling within the sphere of Foreign Affairs including the European Union, the Scottish parliament being unable to vote on matters reserved to the British Parliament. Is it, though, possible to say that European affairs are uniquely part of the domain of foreign policy and separate from Scottish domestic affairs ? Paradoxically, the United Kingdom did not consider it necessary to elaborate an overall policy to define and regulate its European policy once devolution was under way. Two main principles alone have guided the country until now: maintaining the supremacy of the British government when drafting the

Scotland and Europe, Scotland in Europe

231

European policy of the country. Secondly, doing nothing which could alter the way the existing European mechanisms work, partly relying on bodies specialised in European Affairs within Parliament which work hand in hand with the British government. In other words, any change must take place conserving continuity respecting the status quo prior to devolution, hence the idea of making European Affairs a "reserved matter" at central level. Finally, faced with the delegation of political authority from the national level to the regional and European levels, the British Parliament has had to adjust itself. As for Scotland, it tries to take advantage of these shifting national and European environments to find its place and promote its interests to the best all the more as European institutions take regions more and more into account by supporting them even more actively to the point of trying to develop direct relations with regional authorities. Faced with these changes, the British Parliament has tried to adapt itself by controlling as early as possible the European activities of the government via the setting up of bodies specialised in European Affairs to follow and scrutinise European decisions. European Affairs Committees have therefore been imposed under practical national and European considerations as important factors in the involvement of national parliaments in the European process, securing a better control of European affairs. In the same area, the spokesman for the Institutional Committee on the relations between national parliaments and the European Parliament, Mister Seller insisted in January 1989 on the need to set up such bodies: National Parliaments should endow themselves with European Committees of the same rank as parliamentary committees2.

The Seeler report notably proposed that specialised bodies within national parliaments would hold common meetings with committees of the European Parliament but with only a consultative voice. Mister Seeler’s proposal deserves credit not only as a reminder that parliamentary work within committees has really become one of the key elements of parliamentary life-including for the Westminster Parliament- where, traditionally, debates within chambers in plenary sessions were privileged to the detriment of work within committees in order to maintain the unity of Parliament, but also as it proposes a means of strengthening the involvement of national parliaments in the European process through the creation of specialised bodies. Is it however necessary to reserve European affairs to only a few experts at the risk of reviving the controversy over a European Union limited to a community of experts? Through the creation of bodies specialised in European Affairs within national parliaments, benefiting from the same status as other parliamentary committees, the European process has contributed to the development of expertise within parliaments.

232

The European Committee of the Scottish Parliament

These specialised bodies are responsible for scrutinising governmental policies acting as legislators within the European Council of Ministers. In the same way another fundamental question can be raised at this particular stage of the analysis : how is it possible to maximise the work of committees specialised in European affairs while respecting the prerogatives of national executives ? Indeed, for the control exercised through committees specialised in European Affairs to be effective, it has to take place as early as possible, that is to say, as soon as the European commission makes proposals to the Council, and it relies on governmental information. The problem is that, as things stand today, the legislative proposals of the European Commission are initially sent to the presidency of the European Union Council which in turn transmits them to the permanent representatives of the member-states in Brussels. National parliaments’ European committees play a more and more important role in this process. Thus, depending on the country involved, they are responsible for selecting or scrutinising documents issued at the European level. They allow national parliaments, which are no longer associated to the legislative process, to acquire new prerogatives through the right to be informed of European proposals and the right to give their more or less binding opinion on these matters. Thus the institutional mechanism within the European Committee3 of the Scottish Parliament reflects, through the significant powers it is endowed with, the influence of its strict parliamentary control upon the European legislation and the scope of the europeanisation of the Scottish Parliament.

I. The institutional framework of parliamentary scrutiny of European legislation What makes the Scottish parliament different from Westminster Parliament lies in two closely linked characteristics : the monocameral structure of the Scottish parliament and the power of its committees4. The first explanation is a historical one since the initial Scottish parliament of 1707 was unicameral. However, history alone is not enough to understand why unicameralism was privileged. The latter is the result of a fundamental political choice, aiming at proclaiming a certain kind of legitimacy and the political unity that stems from it. Given that there is no second chamber able to review legislation a second time and to serve as a counter-balance, committees make up for this by performing functions generally attributed to a second chamber. The increasing complexity and technicality of issues as well as the rapid widening of the scope of the law justify the involvement of committees responsible for examining legislative proposals from a different angle and scrutinising bills a second time.

Scotland and Europe, Scotland in Europe

233

Thus, if, as in any parliament, parliamentary work within the Scottish parliament is divided into plenary sessions and committee meetings, its committees essentially different. Indeed, the Scottish parliamentary committees perform simultaneously functions which normally belong to different committees because they are at the same time legislative and select committees5 and are thus in a position to call on experts, including Scottish ministers, to give evidence. Section 123 of the Scotland Act 1998 states that parliament or a committee may summon any person to testify on any issue for which a member of the Scottish Executive has general responsibility. In addition, committees are entitled to call on specialists to comment on technical issues underlying policies of the Executive. The whole body of rules and procedures which forms the standing orders, under chapter 6, provides for the setting up of eight mandatory committees covering Audit, Equal Opportunities, External and European relations, Finance, Public Petitions, Procedures, Standards and Subordinate Legislation. In addition to these eight mandatory committees, the Scottish parliament may set up any other committee deemed necessary to examine specific issues-the subject committees. A committee can constitute sub-committees and hold meetings in common with other committees : generally speaking, Scottish MPs who do not belong to a committee, can take part in debates but cannot vote. A committee is generally composed of between five and fifteen members chosen to reflect a balance between political groups and parties within the Scottish parliament. The Scottish parliament’s European Committee was officially created on May 23rd 1999, even if it did not hold its first meeting until a month later on June 23rd 1999. It was originally composed of 13 members-later reduced to 106 including its clerk Stephen Imrie and his assistant David Simpson. The European Committee appointed for the duration of the parliamentary session is composed of two full-time members : a clerk and an assistant. On the dissolution of the Scottish parliament and its committees, the link between the Scottish Executive and the European committee is maintained by the clerk retained to secure the continuity of the committee work including the publication of reports. Moreover, since September 2005, the European committee has been presided over by a Chairman or rather a chairwoman, Linda Fabiani a position all the more important as the chairperson gives the committee its impetus. The original idea was to open the committee the meetings of which are public to all members although not permitted to vote, in order to provide a vast forum where Scottish MPs, members of the Committee of Regions, members of the Social and Economic Committee were to be invited. Initially, the European Committee was to be convened twice a week limited since then to a session per week on Tuesdays.

234

The European Committee of the Scottish Parliament

The Scottish parliament’s European Committee is endowed with prerogatives which, within the framework of a bicameral parliament, normally belong to the powers of a second chamber. Just like a second chamber, it benefits from the right of initiative in legislative matters and can give its opinions on the content of Bills. Its power of scrutiny is exercised over the Scottish Executive : to that aim it leads investigations and issues reports which contain a number of recommendations which are then submitted to the Scottish parliament. The way it deals with European Affairs is in fact fairly similar to that of the European Committee of the House of Lords. As the latter, it holds more than an investigative power since it can discuss any European proposal and issue reports on those which raise particularly important issues. However, the institutional framework of the parliamentary control it performs is not very well defined, which on the one hand gives rise to many uncertainties, and on the other hand reinforces the autonomy of the Scottish parliament.

A.The division of powers between Westminster and Holyrood7 : European Affairs, a "reserved domain". Within the texts introducing devolution, the allusions to Europe are scarce and when they do exist, they are defined in a negative way. Indeed, the founding texts, that is to say the White Paper on the Scottish parliament 19978 and the Scotland Act 1998, as well as the informal agreements and the memoranda which were later on adopted, contain ambiguous provisions regarding the relationship between the Scottish parliament and the European Union. Schedule 5 of the Scotland Act 1998 in its first part, Article 7 paragraph 1 devoted to Foreign Affairs states that: International Relations, including relations with territories outside the UK, the European Communities (and their institutions) and other international organisations, regulation of international trade, and international development assistance and co-operation are reserved matters.

More precisely, if the elaboration of the official stance of the UK and the negotiations with the member-states of the European Union fall within the responsibility of the central authority, the scrutiny of the legislative proposals of the European Union and the implementation of European Union policy are in the remit of the Scottish parliament. Indeed, although all foreign policy is connected with diplomacy, it seems difficult to consider European Union negotiations as belonging to foreign policy given that the principles of primacy and direct effect amount to assimilating European legislation to domestic law. On the contrary, there is no doubt that Westminster Parliament can continue to legislate in matters devolved to the Scottish parliament under Section 27

Scotland and Europe, Scotland in Europe

235

paragraph 7 of the Scotland Act 1998. Besides, the latter in Section 28 lists all the matters not revered to Westminster Parliament as devolved matters. Thus, the Scottish parliament is submitted to a number of restrictions, the first being that Scottish law has to limit itself to law and matters of interest to Scotland. But above all, it cannot interfere in matters explicitly reserved to the Westminster Parliament such as the Monarchy, the creation and financing of political parties, foreign affairs, the public service, national defence, all of which are symbols of sovereignty and the powers of state. All in all, the new institutional provisions which now regulate European relations of Scotland within the United Kingdom, enshrined in the White Paper on the Scottish parliament 1997 and the Scotland Act 1998, introduce a few substantial changes regarding European affairs because of the will to maintain the status quo ante. However, the Scottish parliament, for its part, has to respect Community law and to apply it in devolved matters. To this aim a fairly flexible set of rules has been introduced.

B. Regulating procedures between the British Executive and the Scottish Executive: settlements of disputes. The 1997 White Paper on the Scottish parliament planned the drafting of concordats or informal agreements containing provisions aiming at establishing, between the devolved government and the central government, a modus vivendi dealing with the exchange of information and the early notification of Community documents. These agreements regulate reserved matters where the devolved administrations have legitimate interests, and for devolved matters where the UK government has a legitimate interest. On October 6, 1999 a declaration of intention a Memorandum of Understanding was published institutionalising the very principle of agreements signed by the British government and each of the devolved administrations. These informal agreements fell into two different categories. The first one took the form of multilateral agreements signed by the British government and all the devolved administrations dealing with provisions aiming at providing for the settlement of disputes, the involvement of devolved administrations in the European policy of the United Kingdom, financial assistance to industry, the coordination of European policy with international relations and the exchange of statistics. The second category is bilateral, that is to say, it involves a devolved administration and the British government. Whether they are multilateral or bilateral, they are not legally binding for their signatories: they form rather a kind of code of conduct between the central government and devolved administrations and they represent a framework for the elaboration of common policies. They are referred to each time there is a risk of overlapping of

236

The European Committee of the Scottish Parliament

competence in order to avoid a deadlock. Donald Dewar, in a note sent to the Scottish Office en 1998, proposed to define them in the following way : Agreements concluded between the Scottish Executive and the ministerial departments of the United Kingdom government, these non statutory agreements or purely administrative provisions are referred to as concordats.

The purpose of these agreements is to secure smooth working relations between to the Scottish Executive and central government providing for the necessary consultations. In addition, they allow the Scottish Executive to make proposals about non reserved matters and the central government to make proposals about matters in the reserved domain. All things considered, this fairly flexible framework aiming at favouring exchanges is based upon the reciprocal good-will of all those involved: John Loughlin does not hesitate to describe them as"gentleman’s agreements"9. These agreements aimed at settling disputes planned the setting up of a joint committee10 where debates were to take place under the presidency of the minister of Foreign affairs of the British government, with the participation of ministers or top civil servants of devolved administrations. But the lack of transparency in the way it worked and the absence of representatives of the Westminster Parliament led to dysfunction and undermined the confidence of devolved administrations. Nevertheless, the fundamental principle at the base of this whole framework is to develop relations between each executive and each parliament.

II. Parliamentary scrutiny at work: a strict but non-binding control of European law. Parliaments including the Scottish parliament have endeavoured to adjust to the new forms of European governance through the revival of their parliamentary control notably via the specialisation of their representatives within European committees. Even more important than this specialisation is the legal impact of the control that the Scottish parliament’s European Committee exercises over the Scottish Executive in European matters for, while not binding it is, however, very strict.

A. A strict parliamentary control The Scottish parliament’s European Committee is subjected to rules and procedures defined by Chapter 6 paragraph 8 of the parliamentary standing orders. This specialised body first of all plays an essential role in receiving and sifting European texts.

Scotland and Europe, Scotland in Europe

237

1-The European Committee’s receipt of proposals for EC and EU legislation : an ex ante scrutiny It is crucial at this stage for the Committee to be informed in a satisfactory way regarding timing and content by the British government which is under obligation to secure an early submission of European directive and regulation proposals which means it has to inform and consult the Scottish parliament regarding European affairs. Indeed, the British government has to provide the European Committee with full information on any matter of interest to Scotland as early as possible. The European documents thus transmitted include, moreover, an explanatory memorandum including a summary of the European Commission’s proposal, its legal and political impact, the timetable for its scrutiny and the government’s opinion regarding it. The British government has to transmit these documents at the same time as it sends them to Westminster. The memoranda are of a considerable use for the members of the European Committee as on the one hand they officially expound the government’s point of view and on the other hand they assist in selecting important proposals. As the European Committee is subjected to very short deadlines, it has no other choice than to rely on the British government’s analysis. The latter receives some 8000 documents a year from European institutions on a huge variety of issues, 1200 of which are sent to Westminster and 800 will be examined thoroughly. As a consequence, the European Committee for its part has to be highly selective it scrutinises some 200 a year-and it plays a crucial role in the selection of proposals considered of greater importance. One of the main difficulties the European Committee faces while performing its tasks is the very short time it is given to scrutinise European texts. Contrary to France where originally only EC and EU legislative proposals were transmitted by the government to the European Committee, the Scottish parliament’s European Committee has to deal with all kinds of European texts as well as reports from the European Commission such as Green Papers and White Papers. In addition, it is interesting to note that the European Committee plays an ever increasing role at the pre-legislative stage a very early date, allowing it to act ex ante, before the European decision-making process-in order to try and influence the position and the opinion of the British government. In addition, this broadened scrutiny of European proposals allows it to have an overall picture of future Community and European law. The remit of the European Committee is quite broad as it is responsible for scrutinising European legislation to be incorporated into Scottish legislation as well as discussing European matters likely to have an impact on other committees or affect Scottish society. Chapter 6 of standing orders defines its mission in the following way:

238

The European Committee of the Scottish Parliament The European Committee is in charge of scrutinising and reporting on EC and EU proposals, implementing European law and discussing any issue concerning the European Communities or the European Union.

It is up to the European Committee to decide what is to be done with European proposals. Its control will only be effective if its ex ante scrutiny is sustained by its legally influent ex post opinion. 1-Issuing a report ex post reflecting its opinion : At this stage, the European Committee is more particularly in charge of determining whether the texts sent to it are of any interest for Scotland. To that purpose three options are available and it will have to choose the most appropriate : it can opt for submitting the European document to the Scottish parliament to be debated within a plenary session without proceeding to its scrutiny within the Committee, or to send the document involved not to the Scottish parliament as a whole but to the mandatory committee considered more competent in this respect, or finally, it can decide to scrutinise the document itself because it is urgent or because of its general scope. Once the European Committee has scrutinised the European directive or regulation proposals and has expressed its views, its clerk sends its opinions to the Scottish Executive secretariat for onward transmission to the relevant department within the Executive. These opinions reflecting the Scottish stance on European issues can then be incorporated by the Scottish Executive secretariat in the Scottish European Brief and the Scottish cover note sent by the Secretary of State for Scotland to the British government. The European Committee report is sent to Scottish ministers to encourage them to develop closer links with their United Kingdom counterparts and promote Scotland's views in London. The Secretary of State for Scotland represents Scottish interests in reserved matters he therefore plays a very important role at this stage. The minister of the Scottish Executive invited to the European Union Council of Ministers is able to report directly Scottish views at European level. Thus, the efficiency of the whole process lies in the close collaboration between the European Committee and the Scottish Executive in examining European Union proposals in order to influence as much as possible the position of the British government. In addition, the European Committee is able to ensure the Scottish parliament pays attention to any European issue with or without formal European proposals. It thus forms a forum for discussion since it can initiate a debate on European issues not only within the Scottish parliament but also at the level of Scotland as a whole through a vast consultative process.

Scotland and Europe, Scotland in Europe

239

The undeniable efficiency of the work of the European Committee cannot hide however some significant weaknesses notably the fact that its control over European proposals is not legally binding for the British government. Therefore, although the strengthening of the European Committee has been reinforced it is still not as efficient as it could be.

B. A non-legally binding control or the limits of parliamentary control The European Committee, as a reaction to the publication by the European Commission of a White Paper on the Governance of the European Union11 understood as a complex decision-making process and the implementation of decisions devoted the 9th report of the 2001 session to "the Governance of the EU and the future : What role for Scotland ?"12, its objective being to compensate for the lack of democracy in dealing with European issues and in the way European institutions work. The European Committee eager, to encourage transparency in procedures facilitating the transmission of information as well as the real participation of citizens starting with the Scots did not hesitate to underline what it considers as two major limits on its parliamentary control over the European proposals. 1-The lack of mastery of the sources of information: Although English law lays down the obligation for central government to consult the representatives of devolved administrations via its ministers these consultations are for most of the time a mere formality. The British government, even if it not necessarily in its interest, may be tempted to withhold information from the European Committee all the more as the latter does not have any binding or repressive powers. Indeed, in no way can it force the British government to act. What is more worrying, however, is the fact that the Scrutiny Reserve the mechanism by which government accountability to parliament is secured and which applies with respect to the European committees of Westminster, ensuring that in most cases European committees will have enough time to examine European proposals does not exist in Scotland. 2- The lack of parliamentary Scrutiny Reserve for Scotland: This process is described by the White Paper on "The scrutiny of European Union Business", published by the British government in November 1993: Once a resolution proposal is tabled in, the national permanent representative body at the European Union has to ask for the postponement of the adoption of the European legislation under scrutiny to another agenda of the Council, or has

240

The European Committee of the Scottish Parliament to subordinate the final vote of the European proposal to the opinion of the national parliament. 13

This process makes it compulsory for the British government to oppose the adoption of a text by the Council of ministers when it is till being scrutinised by parliament, except under specific circumstances ; in fact, the British government can allude to "special reasons", that is to say when a gap in the law has to be bridged or when it is crucial for a text benefiting the UK to be adopted within very short time limits. The Scrutiny Reserve does not apply when European proposals are not judged politically or legally important by European committees, which means that the selection of European proposals by European committees is essential. At the UK level this Scrutiny Reserve has been applied for a very long time since the British government committed itself to implement it as early as at the time of British membership to the European Communities. Significantly, this Scrutiny Reserve is described as "the corner-stone of the scrutiny process" in the White Paper mentioned above. It was initiated by a decision of the House of Commons on October 30, 1980 and completed by a decision on October 24, 1990. For the House of Lords, this process was introduced as early as 1983, followed by a reform in December 6, 1999 which regulated its use. It is a very sophisticated system of parliamentary control allowing Westminster to prevent the adoption of texts which it did not have time to examine or on which it did not have time to express its opinion. The problem is that this Scrutiny Reserve only applies to Westminster, and not the Scottish parliament’s European Committee, which limits the authority, and therefore the impact, of its control and of its views in European matters. As a remedy, the European Committee in its 9th report also insisted on its need to be informed of the time-table of sessions and the decision-making process within the European Union Council of ministers. In order to improve its involvement in European affairs, it requires to be informed of progress in current negotiations to be able, if necessary, to adjust its workload to cover European policy. In addition, the mission of the European Committee cannot be performed and cannot be fully efficient without an external perspective allowing it to go beyond an exclusively Scottish approach to the European issues it has to deal with. As an intermediary present within the national political system and represented at Brussels, the European Committee ought to contribute to reinforce the link between the European Union and the European citizens by developing cross-border co-operation strategies. In that prospect, it has developed horizontal links with other European committees not only within Westminster even if they remain unformal but further afield through its European counterparts, notably via the Conference of

Scotland and Europe, Scotland in Europe

241

European Affairs Committee (COSAC). Endowed with increased competence following the Amsterdam Treaty, the COSAC where the Scottish parliament’s European Committee is represented tends to function increasingly as a real device of parliamentary control given that it tries to be as close as possible to the work of the Council and the Commission. It can also issue any report it deems appropriate on the activities of the European Union such as the subsidiarity principle14. It allows notably European Committees to gather and to express opinions on European proposals at the very beginning of the whole process. The European Committee is also a member of the Committee of Regions created by the Treaty on the European Union or Maastricht Treaty which is not a European institution but a consultative body composed of representatives of regional and local administrations designated by memberstates. It must be consulted in instances provided for by the Treaty and it can also express opinions. Regions, not considered partners unless so designated by member-states, the Committee of Regions grants them institutional involvement in the European process but only on a consultative basis. Above all it is the presence of the European Committee in the bureau of the Scottish parliament, Scotland Europa, opened in Brussels in May 1992 which allows it to obtain information directly from European institutions even before the publication of official documents. All in all, the strengthening of the democratic control to which the European Committee actively contributes is a prerequisite for the European Union to benefit from European citizens’approval without which it will remain a technocratic body without much of a future. Europe will not be without its citizens or against their will, starting with the Scots.

General Outlines I- The institutional framework of parliamentary scrutiny of European Law : A- The division of power between Westminster and Holyrood : European affairs as "reserved matters" 1 - Maintaining the status quo ante or the supremacy of Westminster 2- Scrutiny and implementation of European proposals by Holyrood B- Regulating procedures between the British Executive and the Scottish Executive : Dispute settlements. 1- Informal Agreements 2- A Joint Committee II- Parliamentary scrutiny at work : A strict but non-legally binding control of European Law. A- A strict parliamentary control

242

The European Committee of the Scottish Parliament

1-Receiving proposals for EC and EU legislation : ex ante scrutiny 2- Issuing a report ex post reflecting its opinions B- A non-legally binding control or the limits of parliamentary control 1- The lack of mastery of the sources of information 2- The lack of parliamentary Scrutiny Reserve for Scotland

References Books Blanc, Didier. Les parlements européen et français face à la fonction législative communautaire : aspects du déficit démocratique. Paris : L’Harmattan, 2004, 527p. Bulmer, Simon & Burch, Martin. British Devolution and European PolicyMaking. Hampshire : R.A.W. Rhodes, 2002, 222p. Castric, Olivier. Quels partenariats pour les régions de l’Union européenne ? Rennes : Apogée, 2002, 424p. Cicardi, Christian. L’Écosse contemporaine. Paris : Ellipses, 2002, 175p. Costa, Olivier. Vers un renouveau du parlementarisme en Europe ? Bruxelles : Université de Bruxelles, 2004, 302p. Hourquebie, Fabrice. Les organes spécialisés dans les affaires communautaires des parlements nationaux. Paris : L’Harmattan, 1999, 240p. Leruez, Jacques. L’Écosse : Vieille Nation, Jeune État. Crozon : Armeline, 2000, 344p. Leydier, Gilles. La question écossaise. Rennes : Presses Universitaires de Rennes, 1998, 252p. Nuttens, Jean-Dominique & SICARD, François. Assemblées parlementaires et organisations européennes. Paris : La documentation française, 2000, 134p. Saurugger, Sabine. Les modes de représentation dans l’Union européenne. Paris : L’Harmattan, 2003, 304p. Schnapper, Pauline. La Grande-Bretagne et l’Europe : le grand malentendu. Paris : Presses de Sciences-Po, 2000, 198p.

Articles Costa, Olivier & Latek, M. "Paradoxes et limites de la coopération interparlementaire dans l’Union européenne". Journal of European Integration, 2001, 23, 139-164. Latek, M. "Le poids des traditions parlementaires nationales dans le développement de la coopération interparlementaire : la participation

Scotland and Europe, Scotland in Europe

243

française et britannique à la COSAC". Politique européenne, 2003, 9, 143163. Loughlin, John. "La dimension européenne de la dévolution". Pouvoirs Locaux, 2001, 49, 115-120.

Official documents European Committee, Report on Scrutiny of European Documents. SP Paper 33, 1st Report, 1999. —. Report on the Governance of the European Union and the Future of Europe : What role for Scotland ?. SP Paper 466, 9th Report, 2001. External Liaison Unit, Scotland and Europe : A European Seminar. SP Paper 341, Feb. 2001.

Notes 1

In the sense of two distinct chambers with a different composition within a parliament. From a historical point of view, bicameralism originated in England where the parliament as early as the 13th and 14th centuries was composed of barons – Magnum Concilium – and representatives of (local) communities – Commune Concilium. 2 European Parliament, Doc. A2, 348-88 B. 3 The European Committee of the Scottish Parliament was significantly re-named European and External Relations Committee on March 5th 2003, in order to institutionalise the widening of its remit notably its power to sign bilateral agreements with other European regions. As the European aspect of this Committee is involved in this article, the original name has been deliberately kept. 4 A parliamentary committee is a body that an assembly sets up within its framework to prepare its deliberations : it is a body which makes surveys and proposals. 5 "subject committees" are set up to reflect upon one particular issue ; they allow its members, who share a common preoccupation linked to a particular policy, to discuss it. 6 The composition of the European committee (September 2005) : Linda Fabiani (chairwoman), Irène Oldfather (deputy-chairwoman), Dennis Canavan, John Home Robertson, Gordon Jackson, Margaret Ewing, Phil Gallie, Jim Wallace. 7 Holyrood - that is to say the Scottish parliament - referring to the place where it was set up. 8 Scotland’s Parliament, Cnmd 3658 (HMSO, 1997) 9 John Loughlin, "The European Dimension of Devolution", Pouvoirs Locaux, N°49 II, 2001, 117. 10 Such a committee generally takes the form of a gathering of a number of ministers under the leadership of the Prime minister to discuss a specific issue. 11 European Commission, White Paper on European Governance, 2001. 12 European Committee, Report on the Governance of the European Union and the Future of Europe : What role for Scotland ?. SP Paper 466, 9th report, 2001.

244

The European Committee of the Scottish Parliament

13 Cabinet Office. The Scrutiny of European Union Business. London : TSO, November 1993, 2. 14 According to the principle of subsidiarity powers to deal with certain matters should remain with individual member states and not be assumed by the European Commission.

THE CALEDONIAN MACBRAYNE SAGA: A POINT OF CONTENTION BETWEEN SCOTLAND AND EUROPE NATHALIE DUCLOS, UNIVERSITY OF TOULOUSE 2

Maritime transport within Member States of the EU (or “maritime cabotage”) has been liberalised for years, and Britain is one of the last Member States in which a state-owned shipping company has the monopoly on certain ferry services. Caledonian MacBrayne, otherwise known as CalMac, runs ferries to twenty-two islands and four peninsulas on Scotland’s west coast. Each year, it carries about five million passengers and one million vehicles to and from the Clyde Estuary and the Western Isles. But ever since the establishment of devolution in the UK, Scotland and the European Union have been divided on one question: does European legislation require the tendering of Caledonian MacBrayne’s ferry services? CalMac has received between £19 and £26 million per year from the Scottish Executive for the past five years,1 that is, since Scottish Ministers succeeded the British government as owners of the company’s share capital. Scottish authorities argue that funding CalMac is necessary for the economic survival of the Western Isles as CalMac’s ferry services are the life-blood of the island communities. But in the eyes of the European Union, funding a company to operate services with no competition is illegal.2 It is this fundamental disagreement which has given birth to the socalled “CalMac saga”,3 which has been a point of contention between Scotland and the European Union for more than six years. The saga began in June 1999, when the European Commission wrote to the British government asking for explanations on CalMac’s monopoly operations. On 29 June 2005, Whitehall received a new “pre-infraction” letter from the Commission in relation to the Clyde and Hebrides services. In the meantime, the issue was the subject of five Scottish Executive consultation documents, two Parliamentary debates, three motions, eighteen debates in the Transport Committee4 and many Parliamentary questions in Edinburgh, many Parliamentary questions in Brussels, as well as numerous meetings between Scottish representatives (MSPs, MEPs, local

246

The Caledonian MacBrayne Saga

councillors, party members and trade unionists) and European Transport Commissioners. Since June 2005, there has been one more Scottish Executive document, two more Parliamentary debates (one in the Chamber and one in the Transport Committee) and several more Parliamentary questions on the issue. None of the steps Scotland has taken has been effective, in that none of them has led the European Commission to fundamentally reconsider its position. The Commission still believes that the only way for the Scottish Executive to meet European regulations is for it to tender CalMac’s ferry services. The aim of this article is to look at the relationships between Scottish and European institutions, and between the different Scottish institutions, from the angle of the CalMac saga. The CalMac affair can be viewed in two opposite ways. On the one hand, it can be seen to illustrate the powerlessness of Scottish devolved institutions: the Parliament’s incapacity to influence an Executive itself incapable of influencing the European Commission, which is requiring Scotland’s compliance with European legislation. On the other hand, one can also choose to stress the limited yet substantial concessions gained thanks to Scottish European lobbying, as well as the fact that Scotland has grown partially autonomous from the UK on the European scale. This affair has therefore given rise to a twofold debate on Scotland’s place within Europe and within the UK. The European requirements regarding the Scottish Executive are based on several sets of legislative texts. First of all, European authorities have cited the Treaty establishing the European Community, especially its articles 87 and 88 on aids granted by states.5 These articles list the types of aids which may be considered compatible with the common market and require the European Commission to keep under review aids existing in Member States. The EU has also referred Scottish authorities to two Commission Communications, published in 1997 and 2004, in which it draws up specific guidelines on state aid to maritime transport.6 Such Communications are not binding; their aim is to clarify the Commission’s position on an issue by presenting its interpretation of a legislative text. In this case, the Commission Communications define the conditions on which state aids to maritime transport can be considered compatible with the common market. Lastly, the EU has cited Council Regulation No.3577, voted by the European Council in 1992.7 As its title makes clear, this Regulation applies the principle of freedom to provide services to maritime transport within Member States. In 2003, the Commission also published a Communication in which it gave its interpretation of the Regulation.8 The main purpose of the Regulation, which took effect on 1 January 1993, was to liberalise shipping in the EU. However, as explained in a Scottish Executive paper, “the Regulation recognised that the market would not, on its own, always provide an appropriate level of service”; it therefore

Scotland and Europe, Scotland in Europe

247

“provides for Member States to conclude Public Service Contracts (PSCs) or impose Public Service Obligations (PSOs) in order to ensure ‘the adequacy of regular transport services to, from and between islands’”.9 But the Regulation is also based on the principle of non-discrimination, which is one of the cornerstones of European law. According to that principle, if a Member State wants to conclude a PSC with a ferry operator or to impose PSOs upon it, then it must do so on a non-discriminatory basis in respect of all Community shipowners, without favouring a national company over a foreign one. This is what compels the Member State to launch a European-wide invitation to tender. As a consequence of the adoption of Regulation No.3577, almost all maritime cabotage services have been liberalised in the EU since 1 January 1999. But the European Commission, whose aim is to ensure that Community law is properly applied by the Member States, believes that the progress of liberalisation has been too slow in some Member States, against which it has started to take action. The UK received a first letter concerning Caledonian MacBrayne in June 1999. It took several months for Scottish authorities to start acting on that letter. On 25 March 2000, Sarah Boyack, Scotland’s Minister for Transport and the Environment, met with European Transport Commissioner De Palacio’s Cabinet in Brussels. A few days later, she launched an Executive consultation in Scotland on the issue of maritime transport. In the foreword to the consultation paper, entitled Delivering Lifeline Ferry Services. Meeting European Union Requirements,10 the minister drew the following conclusions from her visit to Brussels: “We must comply with Community law, including the rules on State Aids in the maritime sector. Failure to comply is not an option for the Scottish Executive.” The aim of the consultation was not to seek Scottish people’s opinion on the necessity of tendering the island routes, but their opinion on the implications such a measure would have. This showed that the process of complying with European legislation was already under way. After the responses to the consultation were made public in January 2001, several Scottish officials tried either to put a brake on this process, or to gain concessions from the EU. On 25 March 2001, Catherine Stihler, a Labour MEP, for example asked the President of the European Parliament whether the tendering process could be delayed.11 Moreover, many representations were made to the European Commission. On 24 January 2001, the Scottish Minister for Transport paid another visit to the Commission, which was followed a few days later by that of two Liberal Democrat MSPs, George Lyon and John Farquhar Munro. Each time, the European answer was clear: European authorities confirmed that tendering was necessary and not to be delayed; they also said that the State was entitled to supporting island routes, but that if a private operator launched a complaint against the State, this would trigger a Commission investigation. On his return from Brussels, George Lyon lodged a

248

The Caledonian MacBrayne Saga

motion in the Scottish Parliament, where it was debated on 1 March 2001.12 He called on the Executive to do everything in its power not to oppose European requirements, but to ensure job security for CalMac employees. This suggested that the liberalisation of maritime cabotage had become inevitable. Therefore two conclusions can be drawn from the first official discussions on the issue: at the time, Scottish representatives had not only failed to change the EU’s position, but Scottish authorities had even come to accept that tendering was the only available option. But a few years later, a sudden new development set the saga going again. In October 2003, George Lyon claimed that a recent European Court of Justice ruling, known as the Altmark ruling, affected the need to tender the Hebrides island routes. Altmark Trans is the name of a German bus company which had received subsidy to operate services in the city of Stendal. The case had been taken to court after a rival company had complained that the aid was illegal. But the European Court had ruled that payments by governments to companies providing essential services should not be considered state aid.13 George Lyon therefore asked Jack McConnell, the Scottish First Minister, to reconsider his plans concerning CalMac in the light of the Altmark ruling. The First Minister replied that it was preferable to proceed with the tendering of the services while waiting for further clarifications from European authorities. The EU wasn’t long in reacting: it responded in December 2003 and January 2004 with two Commission Communications, and in April 2004 with a Brussels meeting between Nicol Stephen, the new Scottish Minister for Transport, and Daniel Calleja, the Head of the Transport Commissioner’s Cabinet. The Commission told Nicol Stephen that the Altmark ruling did not affect specific European laws on maritime transport, and that those laws required the Scottish Executive to put out to tender its west coast ferry services. However, the publication of the two Commission Communications can be seen as a victory for Scottish lobbying as Scotland was given three important concessions. First of all, the Commission agreed to the creation, in some cases, of vessel-owning companies which would lease vessels to ferry operators. This concession could allow the CalMac fleet to remain in public ownership. The Commission also stated that Member States were entitled to subsidise not only island routes, which they already were, but also some mainland-to-mainland routes, such as the Gourock-Dunoon route operated by CalMac. Last but not least, Scotland was allowed to tender all CalMac routes as a bundle, instead of each route individually. The CalMac network will therefore not be dismantled, which presents great advantages: it can generate economies of scale and prevent companies from “cherry-picking” the profitable routes and leaving out those that are uneconomical yet essential to the economic survival of the Western Isles. It is unusual to put a whole network out to competition, and the fact that Scotland has managed to convince the

Scotland and Europe, Scotland in Europe

249

Commission of the merits of such an approach is not insignificant. Scotland has therefore proved to be both powerless to fundamentally change the EU’s position and capable of getting considerable concessions from it. Contradictory lessons can also be drawn from the Scottish Parliament’s attitude towards the tendering process. In the European field, Holyrood is at best an advisory body, as European affairs are matters reserved to the British Parliament, according to the 1998 Scotland Act, which gave birth to the Scottish Parliament. However the same article of the Scotland Act specifies that the observance and implementation of international obligations, including European ones, are matters devolved to Holyrood.14 It is on this account that on 8 December 2004, the Scottish Parliament rejected an Executive motion on the tendering of the main bundle of CalMac’s ferry services. That vote was particularly significant as it was only the second time that the Parliament had voted against an Executive motion.15 The motion was defeated by just one vote (the Presiding Officer’s casting vote), after 14 rebel Labour MSPs (as well as one Independent MSP) chose to abstain. The Parliament’s rebellion, which took place the day before a meeting of the European Transport, Telecommunications and Energy Council in Brussels, induced the Scottish Transport Minister to try and negotiate a compromise with the European Commissioner. It also led David Martin, a former vice-president of the European Parliament and a Scottish MEP since 1984, to ask the president of the European Parliament to apply to the Transport and Competition Commissioners and find out whether tendering was necessary. By rebelling against the Executive, the Scottish Parliament had showed that it was worthy of the vision of its founding fathers and true to one of its key principles, power sharing. However in the summer of 2005, the Executive turned the tables on the Parliament as it managed to rally the rebel MSPs to its plans and on 14 September 2005, Holyrood voted for a new Executive motion on the future of CalMac (by 63 votes to 53). None of the MSPs belonging to one of the government parties (Labour and the Liberal Democrats) voted against it and only one of them abstained. So in the end the Scottish Parliament abided by the Executive’s plans and by European decisions, although the Scottish political community was unanimous in opposing the liberalisation of maritime cabotage. The Executive’s attitude towards European authorities was also ambiguous. It was in the difficult position of wanting to comply with European rules and to convince the Scottish Parliament of supporting the tendering process, while being fundamentally opposed to such a process and having to echo the Parliament’s position in Brussels. On 13 September 2005, the Scottish Minister for Transport told the Local Government and Transport Committee in Edinburgh:

250

The Caledonian MacBrayne Saga I did not write the European rules – I may have a personal view of them, which I had better not express today…I may not like the regulation, but it does not matter what I think of it – the reality is that it is the European regulation. It might be open to Mr Sheridan [a Scottish Socialist Party MSP] to ignore or break European law, but it is not open to any Scottish minister.16

But at the same time, he informed the MSPs in the Committee that he had told the European Commission he was not prepared to take the tendering process further before the matter had been discussed in the Scottish Parliament. This is the type of dual attitude towards Europe that Murray Tosh, a Conservative MSP, mocked when he nicknamed the Executive “the in-Europe-but-not-run-byEurope brigade”.17 Despite its claims that it did not always follow the Commission’s agenda, the Executive’s difficulties in influencing the Commission are apparent in the seven letters that the Scottish Transport Ministers (Nicol Stephen until June 2005 and then Tavish Scott) exchanged between December 2004 and July 2005 with Jacques Barrot, the Commission vice-president and Transport Commissioner.18 None of those letters indicates a change in Scotland’s favour. When Stephen asked Barrot if tendering was an absolute necessity, Barrot first answered that it was the best way for the Scottish Executive to be in compliance with European law, and then that it was the only way for it to comply with European law. Moreover, Barrot indirectly threatened the Scottish Minister by telling him his services were receiving complaints from third parties about CalMac’s services. However, these letters show that Scottish Ministers and their services can meet and discuss with European Commissioners and their Cabinets, without going through British delegations. In June 1999, the Commission had written to the British government to ask it for an explanation regarding CalMac’s situation; by contrast, in his letter of 27 January 2005, Barrot had written that his services remained at the disposal of the “Scottish authorities” (he did not say the “British” authorities). In another letter, dated 4 July 2005, we read that one of the members of Barrot’s Cabinet had seen one of the members of the Scottish Executive European Union Office to arrange a meeting between Barrot and Tavish Scott, the newly appointed Scottish Transport Minister. This confirms that in some cases at least, European officials negotiate directly with Scottish officials in Brussels. Yet there’s no denying that throughout the whole affair, the Executive could never budge the Commission from its initial opinion. As Tavish Scott himself acknowledged in September 2005, “the Commission has been entirely consistent, not just in the past twelve months, but in the five or six years since devolution.”19 In the eyes of the Scottish opposition, this is evidence that Scotland’s devolved institutions are powerless and submitted to Europe. To the SNP, this powerlessness is structural and stems from Scotland’s lack of autonomy on the European scale; the party believes that the EU would have

Scotland and Europe, Scotland in Europe

251

listened to a “real minister” representing Scotland as a nation-state, as Angus McNeil, the SNP MP for the Western Isles, said after Tavish Scott’s failed visit to Brussels of 18 July 2005.20 To the Conservative Party, the Executive has contented itself with obeying the Commission’s orders, whereas the Commission’s interpretation of European laws can and should be challenged. During the Parliamentary debate of 8 December 2004, David Mundell, a Conservative MSP for the South of Scotland, declared: “I do not think that we should simply accept what is stated in correspondence from the European Commission. We have to take our own robust view and make an interpretation.”21 Mark Ballard, a Green MSP for Lothians, made the Executive a similar challenge during the Parliamentary debate of 14 September 2005: “I question whether the Executive is prepared to fight Scotland’s corner or whether it intends simply to do what Mr Barrot says.”22 The question of Scottish institutions’ powerlessness is crucial as a lot of MSPs fear that tendering CalMac’s services will amount to privatising a former public service. However the Executive has denied that the west coast ferry services will be privatised: on the contrary, it has argued that the aim of the tendering process is to allow the State to keep on subsidising the island routes. It has reminded the opposition that European legislation does not require the cessation of subsidies to lifeline services, whereas refusing to comply with European laws could lead to the suspension, and even the recovery, of all state aids to maritime transport. In March 2001, Sarah Boyack, the then Minister for Transport, for example declared: We are not trying to privatise the system; we are trying to ensure that the investment that we have had from central government continues. We want to keep the CalMac fleet together and in public ownership.23

More than three years later, Duncan McNeil, a Labour MSP, similarly denounced “the behaviour of the Johnnys-come-lately who tell us in slogans that the matter is all about privatisation, whereas in fact it is about securing massive public subsidy.”24 The Executive has repeatedly said that it is committed to maintaining what it considers to be vital lifeline links to Scotland's islands and rural communities, and that it will continue to subsidise the Clyde and Hebrides ferry routes in the future. The CalMac saga is therefore about more than maritime transport: it is about the sphere of influence and the powers of Scotland’s new devolved institutions. The CalMac affair has opposed Scotland and Europe for more than six years. The 2004 Commission Communication on state aid to maritime transport “proposed that Member States amend their existing aid schemes relating to State aid covered by these guidelines so as to comply with them by 30 June 2005 at the latest”;25 if they didn’t, the Commission would apply Article 19(2) of

252

The Caledonian MacBrayne Saga

Regulation No.659/1999, which allows it to initiate a formal investigation procedure. That explains why the UK government received a pre-infraction letter from the Commission on 29 June 2005, the day before the deadline. Now that the Scottish Parliament has voted to put out to tender the Clyde and Hebrides ferry routes, the next step in the process will be the drafting of Executive tender documents, which the Commission will examine to see whether they satisfy the complainants’ concerns. If they do, a call for tender will be published in the Official Journal of the European Union. If they do not, an investigation will be launched and an infraction letter sent. In the unlikely case that Scottish institutions back-pedalled on their commitment to tender CalMac’s ferry services, the Commission would most probably take the matter before the European Court of Justice. If the European Court then ruled that Scotland breached EU rules, according to Tavish Scott, “the Commission could order the immediate cessation of subsidy to CalMac and order the Executive to recover from CalMac all subsidy that had been declared to be illegal state aid”.26 It could also go back on its concessions to Scotland and force the Executive to tender each island route individually. But one of the most damaging consequences of the saga if the matter was taken before the European Court would maybe be the fact that it would be taken from the hands of the Scottish Executive and put in the hands of the British Government. Therefore the CalMac saga brings to the fore both the issue of Scottish institutions’ autonomy from European institutions and that of their autonomy from British institutions on the European scale. In September 2005, Labour MSP Des McNulty raised the following point: We need to look again at our relationship with Europe. The interesting issue in the debate is whether Scotland is at the butt-end of inappropriate European rules that are not properly formulated for our requirements. That dialogue has to take place between ourselves, the British Government and the European Community.27

The CalMac saga seems on the verge of ending, but it could still lead Scotland to try and renegotiate its place within Europe and within the UK.

Notes 1

According to the Scottish Transport Statistics No.18 to No.24 (1999 to 2005 Edition). There is only competition from Western Ferries on one route, the Gourock-Dunoon route, for the transport of passengers and vehicles. 3 To quote Marc Ballard, a Green MSP, who coined the phrase during the Parliamentary debate of 14 September 2005. 2

Scotland and Europe, Scotland in Europe

4

253

The Transport and Environment Committee during the first session, and the Local Government and Transport Committee during the second session of the Scottish Parliament. 5 Treaty establishing the European Community (consolidated text), Official Journal of the European Communities, C325/33, 24 December 2002. 6 The references of those texts are respectively 97/C 205/05 and 2004/C 13/03. 7 Council Regulation (EEC) No.3577/92 of 7 December 1992 applying the principle of freedom to provide services to maritime transport within Member States (maritime cabotage). 8 COM (2003) 595. 9 Scottish Executive, Clyde and Hebrides Lifeline Ferry Services. Scottish Executive’s Consideration of the Requirement to Tender, Annex A, 14 September 2005. 10 Scottish Executive, Delivering Lifeline Ferry Services. Meeting European Union Requirements, April 2000. 11 Question No.73 by Catherine Stihler (H-0151/01), 15 March 2001, Strasbourg. 12 Scottish Parliament, Official Report, 1 March 2001, Motion S1M-1263. 13 Proceedings of the Court of Justice and the Court of First Instance of the European Communities, No.21/03, Case C-280/00. 14 Scotland Act 1998, Schedule 5, Article 7. 15 The first time had been on 8 January 2003, when the Parliament had narrowly defeated the Executive over its proposed fire service reform. The Presiding Officer, who does not normally take part in votes, had had to give his casting vote after an equal number of MSPs had voted for and against the proposed amendment to the Local Government Bill. 16 Scottish Parliament Local Government and Transport Committee, Official Report, 13 September 2005, Col.2770. 17 Scottish Parliament, Official Report, 1 March 2001, Col.215. 18 N. Stephen sent J. Barrot three letters, on 23 December 2004, 24 February 2005 and 4 May 2005, to which Barrot replied on 27 January, 19 April and 25 May 2005; T. Scott sent Barrot a letter on 4 July 2005. 19 Scottish Parliament Local Government and Transport Committee, Official Report, 13 September 2005, Col.2770. 20 “EU orders Executive to put ‘lifeline’ routes out to tender”, The Scotsman, 19 July 2005. 21 Scottish Parliament, Official Report, 8 December 2004, Col.12671. 22 Scottish Parliament, Official Report, 14 September 2005, Col.19053. 23 Scottish Parliament, Official Report, 1 March 2001, Col.223. 24 Scottish Parliament, Official Report, 14 September 2005, Col.19055. 25 2004/C 13/03, paragraph 13. 26 Scottish Parliament, Official Report, 14 September 2005, Col.19031. 27 Scottish Parliament, Official Report, 14 September 2005, Col.19060.

SCOTTISH MEPS SINCE 1999 EDWIGE CAMP, UNIVERSITY OF VALENCIENNES

There are seven Scottish MEPs who sit in the European Parliament in Brussels–and Strasbourg once a month. They work with the UK government and their EU representation (UKREP). They also cooperate with Scotland’s devolved institutions–an Executive and a Parliament (Holyrood) set up in 1999, which deal with fields such as agriculture, fisheries and structural funds although European negotiations are conducted by the UK government. Only 7% of the Scots knew “a lot” or “a fair amount” about their MEPs in 2005 (MORI poll quoted in Dinwoodie 2005). They are hardly ever mentioned by journalists or academics. Yet one of them could have become the president of the European Parliament. We will argue that MEPs promote Scottish interests through their electoral campaigns, their work in the European Parliament and their attitudes towards the various institutions.

Scottish MEPs’ electoral campaigns In 1975 some MPs–including four Scots–were appointed to the European Parliament by the UK government. From 1979 eight Scottish MEPs were elected every five years. The first-past-the-post (FPTP) electoral system was used in single-member constituencies. The Scottish National Party (SNP)’s Winnie Ewing was the only MEP who was first nominated then elected in 1979 when she defeated the Liberal Russell Johnston while the other two MEPs did not stand. The Conservatives enjoyed a peak in 1979. They then became increasingly unpopular which benefited Labour (tables 1 and 2). In 1999 FPTP was replaced with proportional representation (PR) on closed, Scotland-wide lists. The number of MEPs was reduced to seven in 2004 because of EU enlargement. PR enabled the Conservatives to win back seats and the LiberalDemocrats (LibDems) to gain their first MEP at the expense of Labour. The SNP maintained their representation after obtaining a second seat in a byelection held in 1998.

Scotland and Europe, Scotland in Europe

255

No other party has MEPs, neither the Greens and the Scottish Socialist Party (SSP) which have Members of the Scottish Parliament (MSPs) nor eurosceptical parties which have MEPs elected in England. Indeed in Scotland national identity is not based on opposition to Europe (John Curtice, in Gordon 2004a). UKIP is regarded as English. Europe does not seem relevant to the SSP’s electors (Alan McCombes, their policy co-ordinator, Herald 2004). Table 1: Share of the vote at European elections in Scotland 1979 1984 1989 1994 1999 2004 33.6 33.1 40.8 38.2 24.8 30.9 Turnout Conservative 33.7 25.7 20.9 14.5 19.8 17.8 33 40.7 41.9 42.5 28.7 26.4 Labour 14 15.6 4.3 7.2 9.8 13.1 LibDem 19.4 17.8 25.6 32.6 27.2 19.7 SNP Source: Hassan and Fraser 2004, 472 Table 2: Seats at European elections in Scotland 1979 1984 1989 1994 1999 2004 5 2 0 0 2 2 Conservative 2 5 7 6 3 2 Labour 0 0 0 0 1 1 LibDem 1 1 1 2 2 2 SNP Source: Hassan and Fraser 2004, 472

Turnout has always been below 40% since 1979 with a low in 1999 as European elections were held only one month after the first Holyrood elections (table 1). Turnout barely amounted to 15-17% in Labour-held seats in Glasgow which are also SSP strongholds. Many working-class Labour voters decided against voting as they were hostile to the euro (Denver and Bochel 2000, 30: 133). Yet even in Edinburgh’s wealthy seats 32% of electors at most bothered to vote. In 2004 political parties thus aimed at boosting turnout which is essential with PR. This strategy proved successful all the more so as there was no other poll on that year. Scottish candidates to European elections canvass Europe’s largest constituency with remote areas, which is the reason why it was not selected as a pilot region for postal voting in 2004 (Electoral commission 2003, 2.86). The Conservatives spent the highest amount of money, £254,829, compared with £188,582 for Labour, £93,304 for the SNP and £57,964 for the LibDems (Electoral commission 2005, 23). Scottish MEPs from the main two UK parties wish that campaign issues were more focused on Scotland. Hugh McMahon, an outgoing Labour MEP in 1999, explained that his party’s organisation was so centralized that some

256

Scottish MEPs Since 1999

Scottish leaflets were mistakenly delivered in Wales (Dinwoodie 1999). In 2004 the Scottish edition of the Conservatives’ Manifesto only contained a foreword by Scottish MEP Struan Stevenson and a paragraph on the SNP (Scottish Conservatives 2004). Their campaign was eurosceptical. Labour’s Manifesto did not mention Scotland nor its MEPs (Labour Party 2004). The party promoted their UK achievements. The SNP claimed that they were the only defenders of Scottish interests (SNP 2004). John Swinney, their leader, nevertheless wanted to turn the election into a referendum on the war on Iraq. The LibDems published a Scottish Manifesto and led a positive campaign. However there were internal discrepancies as the Scottish party which rules Scotland in a coalition with Labour was not hostile to GM crops unlike its English counterpart (Scottish Liberal Democrats 2004). Table 3: References to Scotland’s elected representatives in The Herald Scottish Constituency List Scottish Scottish MPs (1) MSPs (1) MSPs MEPs (1) MEPs (2) (1) 70 34 26 55 60 Conservative 39 38 22 18 64 Labour 21 24 49 0 2 LibDem 35 39 39 19 32 SNP 37 36 36 17 46 All Note: average number of references to MEPs from each party from March 2002 to February 2004 (1) and July 1999 to July 2005 (2). Our calculations from the website www.theherald.co.uk including the dailies The Herald and Glasgow Evening News, the weekly Sunday Herald.

The national media ignore Scottish MEPs. In The Herald, the daily broadsheet, the number of references to them is half as low as those to Scottish MPs and MSPs (table 3). This cannot be due to their election under PR–as list MSPs are not elected under FPTP either–nor to the period chosen. These references are often generated by MEPs’ letters while other politicians benefit from proper coverage. Labour MEPs put pressure on BBC Scotland in 2000 when it planned to dismiss its European correspondent (Martin, Miller, and Stihler 2000). Scottish MEPs–except the Conservatives–reckon that the Scottish press is not favourable to Europe (Dinwoodie 2001). This has certainly been true for The Scotsman, Scotland’s other national daily broadsheet, since Andrew Neil became its publisher. MEPs get more reports in the local press throughout Scotland. Besides, the latest campaigns were dominated by internal divisions. In 2004 when the Conservatives launched their campaign partly based on the fight against corruption Struan Stevenson was reported to have signed in to pick up

Scotland and Europe, Scotland in Europe

257

his £175 daily allowance before leaving the European Parliament. He argued that this was lawful and added that he had voted for a reform (Dinwoodie 2004a). As for Labour they have been promoting New Labour. In 1999 when they were about to lose seats because of PR they ranked three of their MEPs in positions which made it difficult for them to be re-elected. Two of them Henry McCubbin and Alex Smith decided against standing and supported the SSP in the Ayr Holyrood by-election in 2000. Hugh McMahon who was fifth on the list failed to be re-elected. In 2004 David Martin, a senior MEP critical of New Labour, was reselected to lead the list thanks to his influential position in the European Parliament. He had been vice president since 1989 and senior vice president since 1999. Yet some of his colleagues–led by his estranged wife’s brother–alleged that he had unlawfully claimed for office costs which led to an investigation from the European Parliament. He had to promise that he would resign if he was proved guilty (Gordon 2004b). He was re-elected although he was not returned as president of the Parliament and he even lost the vice presidency. Bill Miller–who had turned New Labour–pretended that he had official support from his party through an e-mail allegedly sent from headquarters to secure the first position on the list (MacLeod 2002). He was eventually ranked third as gender zipping forced him to give way to a woman, Catherine Stihler. He did not take part in the campaign launch, remained critical and lost his seat (Dinwoodie 2004b). Scottish MEPs have peculiarities compared with Scottish MPs and MSPs (table 4). As for women, Catherine Stihler benefited from gender balance within her party and from the withdrawal of the female candidate formerly ranked third in 1999. Elspeth Attwooll’s LibDems do not use positive discrimination. The proportion of MEPs under forty surged in 2004 thanks to Stihler and the SNP’s Alyn Smith who was ranked second when Neil McCormick retired in 2004. There has been no MEP from the working class since Labour ones had to retire in 1999 (Salmon and Stevenson 1999, 27: 124).

258

Scottish MEPs Since 1999

Table 4: Age, gender, class and political experience of Scotland’s elected representatives 2001 Scottish 2003 2004 Scottish MPs MSPs MEPs 15 40 28 Women 76 70 43 Aged between 40 and 59 19 3 0 Working class 46 36 43 Former local councillor 35 22 85 Previously unsuccessful candidate 18 0 28 First elected over 20 years before Source: our calculations–as a percentage of all elected representatives–based on biographies in Spicer 2004.

Scottish MEPs have a longer political experience than their elected counterparts, as councillors or candidates. Two of them first joined the European Parliament over twenty years ago, David Martin in 1984 and the Conservative John Purvis from 1979 to 1984 and since 1999. When the SNP’s Allan Maccartney died in 1998, his party promptly selected Ian Hudghton, his former agent, a local councillor and a member of Europe’s committee of the regions. Neil McCormick–whose father founded the SNP–Catherine Stihler and Elspeth Attwooll were on their parties’ executives. This longer experience also seems to prove that many of them stood for the European Parliament as they failed to win other elections. Struan Stevenson and Elspeth Attwooll ran in three and five general elections respectively–though only the former stood in winnable seats while the latter contested Glasgow seats where her prospects were poor. The youngest MEPs also contested the 1997 general election–and the 2003 Holyrood election for Alyn Smith- although they had taken an interest in foreign policies during their higher education. Conversely, John Purvis did not contest any election after 1984 and he seized the opportunity again in 1999 when PR was introduced. Ian Hudghton, David Martin and Bill Miller were councillors and did not stand for other elections before entering the European Parliament. Yet later Labour MEPs sought their party’s selection for national elections. Bill Miller unsuccessfully tried to stand in the 2005 Glasgow Cathcart Holyrood by-election. David Martin was frustrated at the new voting system and wanted to represent a constituency but he failed to be selected in 2001 either at the Westminster election–as he did not win over the Midlothian mining community–or at the Strathkelvin&Bearsden Holyrood by-election as there was a party rule which prevented elected representatives in a legislative body from standing for another. Nevertheless in early 2006 Catherine Stihler was selected

Scotland and Europe, Scotland in Europe

259

in the Dunfermline&West Fife Westminster by-election. Had she become an MP, her European seat would have gone to Bill Miller. The experience gained by MEPs is then used by their parties. Struan Stevenson was appointed party spokesman for agriculture, Alyn Smith, Neil McCormick and Elspeth Attwooll were spokespersons for European affairs. In mid 2005 Ian Hudghton took over from Winnie Ewing as SNP president. She would allegedly have liked to sit in the House of Lords–as well as Neil McCormick– but their party is opposed to joining this unelected, privileged House.

Scottish MEPs in the European Parliament Elspeth Attwool sits with the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe. Labour MEPs are affiliated to European Socialists. The Conservatives’ group, European People’s party-European Democrats is powerful and favours European integration. Struan Stevenson thus often distanced himself from it but he rules out leaving it, in defiance of his leader David Cameron (Fraser 2005). The SNP have belonged to controversial groups, along with the French Gaullists RPR, then with Nationalists including Italy’s Lega Nord, then with Bernard Tapie’s Radicals. Since 2004 they have been members of the Greens-European Free Alliance. Some Scottish MEPs held senior positions within their groups, David Martin as leader, Struan Stevenson, Ian Hudghton and Catherine Stihler as vice-presidents, Bill Miller and John Purvis as whips. Labour and SNP MEPs divided the Scottish territory according to their former seats in order to recreate links with electors (Watson 1999c). This arrangement ended in 2004 for Labour. Labour and Conservative MEPs also shared out EU policy areas. Catherine Stihler holds fixed surgeries while John Purvis and Ian Hudghton prefer mobile ones. Three committees seem important for the Scots. Each party has a representative on the fisheries committee (dubbed “fisheries people”): Struan Stevenson who chaired it, Ian Hudghton, Elspeth Attwooll–who was also the rapporteur on the new fisheries control agency–and Catherine Stihler. The first three belong as substitutes to the agricultural committee–Stevenson being the director of a farm. Stihler served on the temporary committee on foot-andmouth. All parties but the Conservatives sit on the regional development committee–Alyn Smith, Elspeth Attwooll, and Catherine Stihler (like Bill Miller before her). Finally, John Purvis, a former investment banker, and Ian Hudghton sit on the economic and monetary affairs committee which is another key sector though less popular (Purvis 2005). David Martin used to be part of it. He now serves on the international trade committee. He was a member of the constitutional affairs committee like Neil McCormick, a professor of public law

260

Scottish MEPs Since 1999

who also covered legal affairs. Elspeth Attwooll, another lawyer, deals with social affairs. Catherine Stihler likes to stress that Scottish MEPs achieve results when they work together (the “team Scotland” approach)–be it to speed up a decision on the ferry between Scotland and Belgium, or to challenge restrictions on the shipping of live animals (Scottish Parliament 2002, 27). On the fisheries committee the Scots condemned the American article which questioned the quality of Scottish farmed salmon in 2004 (Stihler 2004). They defended Scotland against Spain when the Common Fisheries Policy (CFP) was reformed in 2002. Yet the Conservatives and the SNP would now like to put an end to European control over fishing grounds. They try to outdo one another as the former aim at winning back North-East seats held by the latter (Hudghton 2003). Conversely Bill Miller broke with the consensus over aid to fisheries and to the Highlands as they benefited few people and a declining industry unlike manufacturing and Glasgow that he used to represent (Dinwoodie 2002). Scottish MEPs also gather to celebrate Scotland in Brussels, either in Burns suppers or for the Scottish week held in late November 2005 while the UK presided over the European Council. Likewise when David Martin experienced difficulties he was supported by the Conservatives, Neil McCormick and Elspeth Attwooll who stressed their hard work (Fraser and Crawford 2004). Scottish MEPs attempt to influence draft regulations and directives which are likely to have an impact in Scotland at an early stage. Struan Stevenson is better than others at getting media attention thanks to his public relations background. He opposed the import of cat and dog fur to the EU and he defended a people from Kazakhstan devastated by Soviet nuclear testing. Yet he also pretended that Europe was about to ban farmers from working on tractors or forbid bagpipe playing (Fraser 2004a). He is an expert at creating pictures for the media such as a wolf to epitomize the draft constitutional treaty (Smith and Belcher 2005). He exposes France’s shortcomings–poor health controls and high public spending (Herald 2000b; Stevenson 2002). His colleague John Purvis’ analyses of hedge funds or excise duties have a lower profile (Purvis 2003). Bill Miller attracted publicity with his campaign calling for regulations on silicon breast implants (Watson and MacLaren 2000). Since his defeat he has kept speaking on the issues he used to cover (Miller 2005). Until 2004 David Martin’s views were sought after thanks to his senior position. Since then he has spoken on social and human rights (Martin 2005). Catherine Stihler led campaigns to protect the environment and promote public health especially through prominent health warnings on packets of cigarettes (Fraser 2004b). She put pressure in favour of the disabled after working for a disabled MP. Neil McCormick defended Scottish individuals and companies unprotected from

Scotland and Europe, Scotland in Europe

261

inadequacies of the common market (lecturers in Italy, media concentration, trade wars, Watson 1999b; McCormick 2002b). Ian Hudghton campaigned against the effects on fishermen of “over-regulation” such as the limitation on employees’ working week and sun exposure (Herald 2000a, Hudghton 2005b). Elspeth Attwooll covers various topics as her party’s sole MEP. She is vocal when it comes to fishermen–she advocated compensation for boat decommissioning, open European Council debates–but she is hardly ever quoted in the media (Attwooll 2005).

Scottish MEPs and the institutions As for the EU, the Conservatives condemn its bureaucracy, waste and restrictions on business. This may lead Struan Stevenson to criticize decisions approved by UK Conservative governments such as the extension of the Strasbourg Parliament or to support Scottish symbols such as banknotes which would disappear if Britain joined the euro (Wilson 2000; McCormick 2002a). Conversely David Martin advocates further European integration. He refused pessimistic interpretations of Scottish opinion on the euro (Martin 2002). He wondered whether Peter Mandelson as European commissioner could be independent from the British government given his links with Tony Blair (Settle 2004). The SNP led the “no” campaign during the 1975 UK referendum on Europe as they refused the terms negotiated by the British government. Their attitude has changed, especially thanks to Winnie Ewing. Since 1988 they have promoted Europe as a safeguard which would make it easier for Scotland to gain independence. It would have 14 MEPs. Neil McCormick long argued that both states resulting from the break-up would remain members like Denmark and Greenland (McCormick 2003a). Since 2003 he has contended that Scotland would have to apply again in accordance with the draft constitutional treaty (McCormick 2003b). He pointed out Scotland’s assets such as its valuable oil and fish. The EU is open to every state which complies with its values and integrated small states in 2004. He was part–as a substitute–of the convention which drafted this treaty and he succeeded in having fisheries separated from agriculture (McCormick 2003c). Yet fish conservation was entrenched as an exclusive EU competence, which ruled out subsidiarity. During the 2004 European campaign, the SNP were thus committed to voting against the treaty in the referendum then promised by Tony Blair. Nationalists reckon that the main difficulties come from the UK government. Alyn Smith keeps reminding that its budget should match structural funds (like McCormick, Horsburgh 2000). He holds the government accountable for the loss of objective 1 status–regions with a GDP 75% lower than the EU average–

262

Scottish MEPs Since 1999

for the Highlands and adds that Scotland would further lose money if Tony Blair succeeded in repatriating regional policy (Smith 2005b). Ian Hudghton wants a Scottish minister to attend fisheries negotiation as the UK government does not defend Scottish interests (Hudghton 2005a). However both Catherine Stihler and Elspeth Attwooll qualified his account of the 2002 negotiations (Attwooll and Stihler 2003). Struan Stevenson who usually praises the UK framework also reckons that the Blair government does not support Scottish fishermen affected by falling quotas (Stevenson 2004). Both parties’ MEPs voice their concerns over domestic policies–on asylum-seekers (McCormick in Ritchie 2003) or taxes (Stevenson 2005). As for Labour, David Martin, who dealt with relations with national Parliaments until 2004, blamed the Blair government for not supporting social advance such as the 48-hour working week (Fraser and Crawford 2004; Crawford 2005). Conversely Bill Miller repeatedly praised the British government’s contribution to the EU for example regarding tobacco advertising (Miller 2000). Catherine Stihler supports her Prime Minister but she is critical of his attitude to regional policy (Stihler 2005). Catherine Stihler is particularly enthusiastic about the new devolved institutions while Ken Collins who retired in 1999 would have been satisfied with a mere Scottish office within UKREP (Watson 1999a). Elspeth Attwooll was a member of the constitutional convention which designed devolved institutions in the 1990s. She does not suffer from her party’s participation in the Executive (McGregor 1999). She often praises their initiatives. The Nationalists support devolution. Neil McCormick was part of the crossparty “yes” campaigns during the 1979 and 1997 referenda on devolution. He belonged to the constitutional steering committee which set up the constitutional convention. Winnie Ewing stood down from the European Parliament in 1999 to win a Holyrood seat. As early as 1999 Ian Hudghton advocated cooperation to optimize Scotland’s voice even though he feared that the Executive would have to abide by the “London line” (Horsburgh 1999). Alyn Smith used to work for his party’s research office at Holyrood and repeats that this is the only institution where the SNP may win a majority (Dinwoodie 2004c). The Nationalists would like the draft constitutional treaty to take better account of devolved institutions (Smith 2005a). SNP MEPs defend the public sector against free market influence from the EU. They put forward legal arguments for the Executive to avoid putting out to tender a fisheries protection vessel and Caledonian McBrayne-operated shipping routes to the Hebrides (Ross 2004; Smith and McFee 2005). Meanwhile the latter are among the very few decisions approved by the Conservatives (Purvis 2005). Struan Stevenson was for devolution in 1979 but

Scotland and Europe, Scotland in Europe

263

against it in 1997–though he supported fiscal powers. He reckoned that the Executive wanted to seize farmers’ land and assets through land reform and the ban on fox-hunting (Stevenson 1999). John Purvis is less reluctant to devolution. Yet he hinted that the Executive had favoured Labour strongholds when they drew up regions which would benefit from objective 2 funds–for areas facing structural difficulties (Dinwoodie and Watson 1999). Scottish MEPs have people to liaise with in the devolved institutions. In 1999 the Executive set up an office in Brussels which joined with Scotland Europa that already promoted Scotland’s economic interests. One of its aims was to work with Scottish MEPs according to Donald Dewar, the then First minister (Dewar 1999). The Scottish Parliament is open to MEPs and has had a representative in Brussels since 2003. It has a European committee which is prone to cooperation. Committee members visit MEPs in Brussels on a regular basis (Scottish Parliament, 2003b). They welcomed Neil McCormick about the future of Europe, Bill Miller about postal voting at European elections (Scottish Parliament 2003a). MEPs provide MSPs with information on EU affairs–for example Alyn Smith on the draft budget in 2005 (Scottish Parliament 2005). Early warning is indeed essential. The committee has improved its expertise since Winnie Ewing left it because it was not proactive (Russell 2004, 297). MEPs collect MSPs’ concerns–the consequences of the trade war between Europe and the USA in 2000 (Scottish Parliament 2000), or questions to commissioners that they are encouraged to ask. Finally twice a year there are informal meetings between Scottish MEPs, MSPs on the European committee, local authority representatives, and the Executive minister for Europe in the European Elected Members Information and Liaison Exchange (EMILE). Scottish MPs may join–as well as guests such as one of Peter Mandelson’s advisers in September 2005. MEPs value them as views are shared. This cooperation does not prevent rifts which are quickly made up for, for example between Elspeth Attwooll and a LibDem MSP over the fisheries agency in 2004 (Scottish Parliament 2004). The Conservatives criticize an over-integrated Europe, Labour and the LibDems support protections granted to citizens. The Nationalists are half-way between them. Devolution has enabled Scottish MEPs to liaise with people who focus on their agenda. It is difficult to assess their real influence for Scotland as they are 7 out of 732 but they must prove that they deliver. Winnie Ewing puts down her re-election in the Highlands in 1989 with an absolute majority of votes cast to the securing of objective one status (Russell 2004, 231). Yet the former MEP dubbed “Madame Ecosse” by Le Monde claims that one of the most important things she was involved with was her work on third world issues, far from national political concerns. Catherine Stihler also admits her frustration

264

Scottish MEPs Since 1999

despite her membership of key committees and reckons that she was probably most influential over environmental affairs (Stihler 2005).

References Attwooll, Elspeth and Catherine Stihler. 2003. Letter to the Herald, 25 January. Attwooll, Elspeth. 2005. Press release, 13 September. Crawford, Alan. 2005. Brussels calls times on UK’s long hours. Sunday Herald, 8 May. Denver, David and Hugh Bochel. 2000. The 1999 European Parliament election in Scotland. Scottish Affairs, 30: 130-140. Dewar, Donald. 1999. A new window in Brussels. The Herald, 11 October. Dinwoodie, Robbie. 1999. Labour anger at campaign. The Herald, 15 June. Dinwoodie, Robbie and Rory Watson. 1999. Gerrymandering claims on EU funds. The Herald, 3 December. Dinwoodie, Robbie. 2001. Young take old view of Europe. The Herald, 26 March. —. 2002. Labour’s dismissal of fishing’s ‘declining industry’ causes outrage on eve of talks. The Herald, 16 December. —. 2004a. Backlash over MEP’s expenses claim overshadow Tory manifesto launch. The Herald, 30 April. —. 2004b. MEP mars Labour’s campaign launch. The Herald, 15 May. —. 2004c. Young pretender offers a fresh start. The Herald, 25 June. —. 2005. Political ignorance exposed in survey. The Herald, 18 August. Electoral Commission. 2003. Electoral pilots at the June 2004 election. —. 2005. The 2004 European Parliament elections in the UK-campaign spending. Fraser, Douglas and Alan Crawford. 2004. With friends like these. Sunday Herald, 4 April. Fraser, Douglas. 2004a. He’s an Ayrshire farmer who whips up storms in the European Parliament. Sunday Herald, 9 May. —. 2004b. Inaccurate reporting leads people to think the EU is about straight bananas. Sunday Herald, 23 May. —. 2005. Tories refuse to join ‘fascists’. The Herald, 13 December. Gordon, Tom. 2004a. How the English phenomenon failed to catch on in Scotland. The Herald, 15 June. —. 2004b. Labour vote ends MEP’s senior euro role. The Herald, 19 July. Hassan, Gerry and Douglas Fraser. 2004. The political guide to modern Scotland. London: Politico’s. The Herald. 2000a. Deal for fisheries on working week, 7 June. —. 2000b. BSE controls must stay says food agency, 13 September.

Scotland and Europe, Scotland in Europe

265

—. 2004. Stock of the other parties, 15 June. Horsburgh, Frances. 1999. LibDems to take up fight over long hours. The Herald, 7 June. —. 2000. SNP looks to Plaid Cymru tactics in row over funding. The Herald, 14 February. Ian Hudghton. 2003. Letter to the Herald, 17 September. —. 2005a. Press release, 11 July. —. 2005b. Press release, 15 September. Jeffery, Charlie. 2005. Devolution and the European Union: Trajectories and futures. The Dynamics of Devolution, edited by Alan Trench. London: Imprint Academic. Labour Party. 2004. Britain is working. McCormick, Neil. 2002a. Letter to the Herald, 16 September. —. 2002b. Letter to the Herald, 21 November. —. 2003a. Letter to the Herald, 10 January. —. 2003b. Letter to the Herald, 8 July. —. 2003c. Letter to the Herald, 11 September. McGregor, Stephen. 1999. Ashdown puts clear euro water between LibDems and Labour. The Herald, 26 May. MacLeod, Murdo. 2002. Labour hit by candidates row. Scotland on Sunday, 27 October. Martin, David, Bill Miller, and Catherine Stihler. 2000. Letter to the Herald, 3 February. —. 2002. Letter to the Herald, 4 June. —. 2005. Letter to the Herald, 22 March. Miller, Bill. 2000. Letter to the Herald, 27 September. —. 2005. Letter to the Herald, 12 February. Purvis, John. 2003. Press release, 21 October. —. 2005. Interview by the author. Brussels, 14 September. Ritchie, Murray. 2003. MEP joins fray over Ay family rights. The Herald, 11 August. Ross, David. 2004. EC ruling could sink tendering over CalMac. The Herald, 22 January. Russell, Michael, ed.. 2004. Stop the world. The autobiography of Winnie Ewing. Edinburgh: Birlinn. Salmon, Trevor and Linda Stevenson. 1999. Scottish MEPs’ perceptions of their role and function and the potential impact of electoral reform. Scottish Affairs, 27: 124-146. Scottish Conservatives. 2004. Putting Britain first. Scottish Liberal Democrats. 2004. Make Europe work for Scotland. SNP. 2004. Vote for Scotland.

266

Scottish MEPs Since 1999

Scottish Parliament, 2000. European Committee. Official Report, 13 June, col.745. —. 2002. European Committee. An inquiry into Scotland’s representation in the European Union. 5th report. —. 2003a. European Committee, Official Report, 4 November, col.157-170. —. 2003b. European and External Relations Committee. Europe Matters, 1, session 2. —. 2004. European and External Relations Committee. Official Report, 14 September, col.791-794. —. 2005. European and External Relations Committee. Official Report, 7 June, col.1363. Settle, Michael. 2004. ‘I will be a real team player, not Blair’s man’. The Herald, 5 October. Smith, Alyn. 2005a. Press release, 12 January. —. 2005b. Letter to the Herald, 21 February. —. 2005c. Press release, 14 March. Smith, Alyn and Bruce McFee. 2005. Letter to the Herald, 5 September. Smith, Ken and David Belcher. 2005. The Diary. The Herald, 14 January. Spicer, Matthew, ed.. 2004. The Scotsman guide to Scottish politics. Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press. Stevenson, Struan. 1999. Letter to the Herald, 26 July. —. 2002. Letter to the Herald, 16 July. —. 2004. Letter to the Herald, 26 January. —. 2005. Letter to the Herald, 31 January. Stihler, Catherine. 2004. Press release, 10 February. —. 2005. Interview by the author. Brussels, 20 September. Watson, Rory. 1999a. Permanent Brussels base for Scotland to open in July. The Herald, 10 February. —. 1999b. Call to aid EU firms hit by trade wars. The Herald, 7 September. —. 1999c. Labour MEPs set out boundaries. The Herald, 27 September. Watson, Rory and Lorna MacLaren. 2000. EC in U-turn in breast implants. The Herald, 24 May. Wilson, Iain. 2000. Central bank issues ban on Scottish euro notes. The Herald, 25 February.

THE REGION: AN OBSTACLE FOR SCOTLAND ON THE WAY TO EUROPE PHILIPPE BRILLET, UNIVERSITY OF THE MEDITERRANEAN SEA

1. The surprising disinterest of Scotland for Europe The various institutions of the European Union understand Scotland first as a region, which formally responds to the administrative reality of Britain. Such a reality undoubtedly qualifies Scotland to enter the existing networks linking the regions of its international neighbourhood (notably the North Sea Commission eastward and the Atlantic Arc westward) and to negotiate directly with Brussels for European financial supports. Relationships with the Union should be all the more easy that Scotland is undoubtedly a nation, with a cultural cohesion giving little room to any political sub-units, a nation now enjoying an increased amount of sovereignty since Devolution. Besides Scotland, for all its economic difficulties, is by no means a territory in crisis when compared to the European living standards, for its GDP per person is exactly the same as the UK as whole – London not included1. There is very little risk of Scotland engulfing vast amounts of Union resources. There is therefore no reason for the Community to view Scotland as anything else than a potential model euro-region. Yet one has to notice that the new Scottish Executive has not to this day applied its novel powers to join what could be referred to as “the euro-regional game”, even though the latter could be an excellent training ground for a future comeback of Scotland in international relationships. Little has been done with the opportunities that had been previously forecast. The contrast with the strong political will of the Free State - which is a very sensitive issue in Scotland - is striking here. Issues were certainly more pressing for Ireland then, but the European context of the time was much less favourable to the political expression of autonomous territories. The present Scottish reluctance is all the more surprising that the Union is obviously a multiple source of financial, technical and political support, and that it is not very demanding for returns. More importantly, a larger involvement in European matters would allow

268

The Region: An Obstacle for Scotland on the way to Europe

Scotland to expand its political framework beyond the UK, which is supposedly what the country has been long requesting.2 This reluctance toward Europe could certainly be explained in the wake of Devolution by lack of experience and necessary caution, but these explanations seem to be somewhat unsatisfactory now. Besides, one notices that Scottish researchers display a similar lack of interest for the Union. Europe is certainly an important matter for them -albeit a very recent one- but is mostly examined as a mere modifier of Anglo-Scot relationships, or even as a potential problem3. Direct connections of Scotland with -and within- Europe is a much less trodden path. This can be demonstrated with Scottish Affairs, in which only two recent papers (both in n°44, Summer 2003) deal with Europe4, both examining first and foremost its impact on Scotland as a part of the UK. Thus the restraint observed in researchers mirrors that noticed in statesmen5. In addition there is no hint that the population at large feels the very limited European commitment of the Scottish executive to be a problem at all. Such a topic is very poorly covered by the press and hardly referred to in other medias. To understand such an unexpected overall lack of interest for Europe I suggest that the very regional status of Scotland might be to blame. It was indeed a progress on the road to the recognition of the Scottish nation within the UK, yet it could be at the same time something of an obstacle blocking the country when it comes to international relationships. To examine this idea we must examine first the very idea of region and how this concept is used in the European Union and the United Kingdom.

2. The concept of Region in the European Union The word “region” has many meanings, a point usually stressed upon on the very first pages of any book dedicated to regional geography6. Let us only ponder over the two most important ones. The first one is scale. Region is always a part of a larger unit, but the size of the latter varies considerably. It is usually either the whole world or a single country, thus the European region or the region of Glasgow. When region refers to a part of a country, which is the case we are interested in, the word may be used in no less than four different meanings: a region may be an area designated by the central government for planning purposes, a political subunit with an elected power enjoying some degree of autonomy –at least for local affairs, an area with economic unity or cultural coherence and, lastly, the territory of a specific community. The

Scotland and Europe, Scotland in Europe

269

numerous possible combinations of these meanings add of course further complexity to the matter. On top of this, the European Community added even more complications by requiring of member states the setting of no less than three complete levels of regions. Regions of the higher grade (which are known as LTSU 1: List of Territorial Statistical Units of rank 1) are meant to be very large subdivisions of the country, those of the middle grade (LTSU 2) are supposed to be regions in the usual meaning(s) of the word that we have been considering, whereas the lesser ‘LTSU 3’ approximate the local scale. Thus all member states were compelled either to reshuffle their previous regional partitions or, for those with a high tradition of centralization and a parallel lack of pre-existing regions, to create a new treble system to fit the European standard. Still more complexity lies in the fact that, if regions of all sizes are entitled to discussing with the Union, the latter considers LTSU 2 as the proper level of regional policy when it comes to the crucial issue of financially assisting the less developed areas of the member states. In most cases Governments willingly accepted the creation of such a treble regional pattern, if only because boundaries were left into their hands. Framing regions thus became an important part of the diplomatic relationships between states and Union. The Republic of Ireland is a good example of this (cf. table 1). Since the time of the Free-State priority is given to national unity7, and it is therefore no surprise that the very idea of organizing the country into regions was long not at all considered. Eventually eight regions were created in 1994 (the year in which the phrase “Celtic Tiger” was coined, which might not be a coincidence). These regions are for planning purposes only and do not enjoy such a thing as regional governance by an elected body. Being of the lower level (LTSU 3) they fail to attract much attention from Brussels, which deals first and foremost with LTSU 2s. Such a low ranking was achieved through the Irish government declaring that Eire was too small to be parted in various LTSU 1 -a statement that sounds reasonable enough- and even too tiny for any set of LTSU 2s. This is far less acceptable, considering that the average population of such regions approximates 1.5 million in Europe. With 3.9 million inhabitants, Eire can easily accommodate two or even three regions. This official position was only altered when the Irish government discovered in 1999 that the country was on the verge of losing all its financial support from the Union, thanks to its economic boom. The only way to retain some of this funding was to shape its less affluent territory into a LTSU 2 region (named Border-Midlands-Western), the rest of the country becoming necessarily a second one8.

270

The Region: An Obstacle for Scotland on the way to Europe

France, where regional planning is an ancient tradition and regional authorities are on the rise, comes as a complete opposite to Eire9. Giving the 22 pre-existing regions full euro-regional status increased further the power of their elected councils and signalled the will to let them play the European game. To have these regions as LTSU 2s requested the creation of LTSU 1s, in the form of nine ‘super-regions’ that are purely statistical entities. The long-standing Département was easily converted into LTSU 3. Table 1: Regional settings for Eire, France and the United Kingdom

National level

Regional levels Medium Lower LTSU 2 LTSU 3 2 euro-regions 8 planning regions

Higher LTSU 1 Republic Republic of Ireland of Ireland 9 ‘super-regions’ 22 regions 1OO 'Départements' France Northern Ireland Northern Ireland 26 districts England : England : England : 354 districts United Kingdom 9 planning regions 30 euro-regions Wales 2 regions 22 districts Scotland

4 regions

32 districts

3. Regions in the UK Contrary to Ireland and France where old provinces paved to way to modern regions, Britain, traditionally, has always shown little interest in the regional level. Attention is mostly devoted to local and national affairs. This stand is even more marked in Scotland, where towns are of paramount importance. It is remarkable that none of the successive Reports or White Books on Scotland, starting with the very first one (the 1937 Gilmour Report), consider anything else than the whole of Scotland or its major cities10. Britain was similarly long averted to planning, and it is a major irony that planning on the regional scale was only introduced in the European Union at its request, after the UK joined in 197411. The current euro-regional set-up of the UK is much less obviously grounded on financial purposes than the Irish and might even appear merely pragmatic, if not as openly meant for the European game as the French12. Scotland is erected as a region of the higher grade (LTSU 1), which fits the recent Devolution (cf.

Scotland and Europe, Scotland in Europe

271

table 1). The same pattern applies to Wales and Northern Ireland. England is divided into nine LTSU 1s, each of them with a broadly similar population (around 5 million). Of course they do not enjoy an elected authority, contrary to the three Celtic “regions”, and are first meant for planning13. The specificity of England is not that important however, if one keeps in mind that Britain has a strong tradition of local management and that in all four nations much emphasis is laid on the district. This ultimate level matches well the European notion of LTSU 3 region and serves as such from John O’Groats to Land’s End. Creating and delimiting the broader and the smaller regions was thus a relatively easy task for the British government as it could be achieved without upsetting previous patterns. Besides, all that was requested from Brussels was their statistical existence. The LTSU 2 level appeared from the start a much more sensitive issue, first because the idea of a region of that size was alien to British political tradition and next because this level had been selected by the Union as the echelon of European involvement. Northern Ireland exemplifies this double difficulty. The Province is peopled enough to be parted into two LTSU 2s and is indeed divided in two major parts: eastern and western14. The western half is mostly rural, peopled with a large majority of Catholics and is by far the less affluent of the two. If promoted to the status of LTSU 2, it would undoubtedly qualify for European support. Yet all British governments have to this day considered that the political costs of such a “Partition” of Northern Ireland –giving a say to the Catholic minority and fully displaying its disadvantage to the outer worldwould by far outdo the European benefits, especially since the Peace Process entitles the whole territory to specific grants. This is why the Province is to this day a single LSTU 2. The case of England is very contrasting, for the lack of regional tradition is no hindrance and political issues are virtually non-existent at that level. England is now divided into 30 LTSU 2s, which are designed in order to maximize European support. For their creation, civil servants made the most of the long tradition of “designating” areas. Besides the population is used to the frequent reshuffling of county limits, thus enabling governments to reshape almost at will these new regions. Such flexibility maximizes still further the financial support from the Union. The regional question has yet another flavour in Scotland and Wales, for both economic and political reasons support their division into several LTSU 2s. Yet only the first ones are publicly acknowledged. It is true that the present state of the Welsh economy and the existence of lagging territories within Scotland

272

The Region: An Obstacle for Scotland on the way to Europe

are sufficient reasons not to discard European assistance, but it is highly probable that the mere idea of Scotland –and Wales to a lesser extent- enjoying full representation in Brussels as a LTSU 2 region fails to be favoured in London. Dividing these nations into such regions -which we shall refer to as euro-regions from now on- considerably limits their opening to the European Union, to say nothing of these regions being possibly used by the central government against the authorities created by Devolution. To highlight how politically neutral such partitions are supposed to be, the British government officially framed these regions in accordance to the geography of these two nations. Wales for instance could only be divided in two, for its population is almost exactly twice the euro-regional average. And since Wales had only two major cities -Cardiff and Swansea-, it was only logical to have them as heads of the two regions. Thus Wales is now parted by a North-South line, which might be of some relevance in the South but fails to be of any significance in the North. Anglesey belongs no more to the hinterland of Swansea than Flint to Cardiff. Wales is indeed parted in two, but along a North/South basis. The current regional division, which looks so matter-of-fact, has little economic relevance. There is indeed a cultural divide between the more traditionally Welsh areas of the West and the more anglicised parts of Eastern Wales, but this precisely fails to be acknowledged by the new interregional boundary15.

4. Scotland and its four euro-regions Scotland is similarly divided into four euro-regions (cf. figure 1). This number comes already as a surprise since the country has only two major cities and its total population is roughly treble that of the average European region only. And yet, as in Wales, regional division lines are officially drawn to accommodate major cities with a sufficient hinterland: thus Eastern Scotland with Edinburgh as its capital and South-Western Scotland around Glasgow. Framing a region around Glasgow and another one under the command of Edinburgh may seem logical and simple enough, yet this immediately limits the chances of inter-city (and therefore inter-regional) cooperation. The Central Belt, which is probably the most important issue of Scotland for the future16, is thus ignored. Besides the urban logic that was officially used should have created a single third region, uniting the strength of all other towns (notably Perth, Dundee and Aberdeen) to administrate the vast territory that lies north of the Central Belt. Such a third region would have been rather less populated than the British average, to say nothing of the lesser efficiency of a multiple centre, yet it would have avoided direct confrontation between Glasgow and Edinburgh.

Scotland and Europe, Scotland in Europe

273

On the contrary, the most populated areas of the North -including Perth and Dundee- are included within Eastern Scotland, which upsets further the delicate balance between Glasgow and Edinburgh by favouring again the capital of Scotland. This triggers further Glaswegian dissatisfactions, already aroused by the new status of Edinburgh following Devolution, and constitutes a major hindrance to the much needed cooperation between the two cities -and between the two regions. What is more the rest of the North is divided into no less than two other euro-regions, each of them well below any standard and average. North-Eastern Scotland enjoys indeed a major city, for Aberdeen has a population of about 200,000 people, but it lacks every other regional attribute. Highlands & Islands is indeed a cultural region (in fact the juxtaposition of several cultural regions) but its total population barely reaches 200,000, only one eighth of the European average17. In the like manner, Inverness with a population of 40,000 hardly seems qualified to be a regional centre. Besides, the town does not control connections to the Orkney and the Shetland Islands, for they are achieved through the harbour of Aberdeen. The British government stands that giving Highland & Islands full LTSU 2 status is a way to show consideration to its cultures and also to maximize European support18, for the region would not be eligible to the latter if merged into the more peopled and more prosperous North-Eastern Scotland. Yet one wonders whether the main point could not be to scatter as much as possible the representation of Scotland.

274

The Region: An Obstacle for Scotland on the way to Europe

Figure 1: LTSU 1s and LTSU 2s in the British Isles

Indeed such a division into four components raises major difficulties for Scotland when it comes to negotiating with Brussels. It first hinders the New Executive to enjoy a full diplomatic capacity. This obstacle can theoretically be removed in two ways, which could be named “upward” and “downward”. The first one requests the assistance of the Foreign Office and the second the goodwill of the Scottish regions -or at least of one of them. At the present time only the first solution is available, since London enjoys a virtual monopoly over negotiating with the Union and since the core principles of multi-level governance obliges any Scottish project to be first assessed and approved by the central government. This point is clearly argued by Gordon Heggie in Scottish Affairs19: Whilst the devolution legislation indicated that the Scottish Parliament would have an important role in the formulation of the UK-EU policy, it is the UK

Scotland and Europe, Scotland in Europe

275

Government and Ministers who remain the main protagonists at the European decision-making level. Thus, in essence the Scottish Parliament and its European Committee are ‘semi-detached from the EU polity’ and as a consequence their involvement in EU affairs is quite limited.

On the contrary no regulation hinders the four Scottish euro-regions to enjoy a (tiny) office in Brussels. Yet lack of resources -and interest- amounts to a very similar limitation. Cooperation with the much larger British delegation is for them not only a matter of sense in this regard, but also a legal obligation. Along with inter-regional competition, this does not leave much room for panScottish lobbying. Besides, there is very little risk for the British government that these euro-regions command popular support at length, since they are far to coincide with any clear-cut economic, geographic or cultural (even in the case of Highlands & Islands) entity. They also fail to coincide with the electoral districts (cf. figure 2). Above all, one notices that the two Northern regions are far too small and South-Western Scotland too economically weak to develop into any sort of political base. Only Eastern Scotland enjoys the standard capacities of euro-regions, thus inevitably competing with the Scottish Executive. Figure 2: Euro-regions (4) and electoral districts (8) in Scotland

276

The Region: An Obstacle for Scotland on the way to Europe

The four euro-regions appear thus to be efficient obstacles, both tactical and psychological, for the Scottish Executive on its way to Europe. It is therefore no surprise the latter does its best to ignore them. Ivan Turok and Nick Bailey20, from the Department of Urban Studies at the University of Glasgow, lay a similar stress on their very absence within the document Framework for Economic Development, published in 2000 by the Executive: Finally, this paper makes clear that a single national framework is on the agenda, with no possibility of sub-national strategies for areas somewhere between the 21 scale of Scotland as a whole and individual local authorities or city-regions .

Such a stand is thus highly understandable, but by ignoring the euro-regions the Scottish Executive cuts itself from the only alternative to UK diplomacy when it comes to European matters. London remains first and foremost the horizon of Edinburgh and even the SNP has given up its former motto ‘Independence in Europe’. According to Peter Lynch22: Most of Scotland’s role in the EU is therefore not about Scotland in Europe so much as ‘Scotland in the UK in Europe.

Notes 1

See EUROSTAT, Regions: Statistical Data for 2003, Luxembourg, Publishing Office of the European Communities, 2003. 2 See BOND, Ross, ROSIE, Michael, “National Identities in Post-Devolution Scotland”, Scottish Affairs, 2002, n° 40, pp. 34-53. and BROMLEY, Catherine, CURTICE, John, HINDS, Kerstin & PARK, Alison, Devolution - Scottish Answers to Scottish Questions?, Edinburgh, University Press, 2003. See also, in French: LEYDIER, Gilles, La question écossaise, Rennes, Presses Universitaires, 1998. 3 See SMITH, James, “An Incremental Odyssey: The Structural Europeanisation of Government Bureaucracy”, Scottish Affairs, 2003, n°44, pp. 132-156. 4 The potential impact for Scotland of the European currency truly was the topic of n° 45 (Autumn 2003). Yet that issue was only examined as a financial and not a political matter. 5 The European dimension of Scotland is far from being a major issue in the following books: BROUN, Dauvit, FINLAY, R. J., LYNCH, Michael, Image and Identity. The Making and Re-making of Scotland Through the Ages, Edinburgh, John Donald, 1998. DEVINE, T. M., FINLAY, R. J., Scotland in the 20th Century, Edinburgh, University Press, 1996. McCRONE, David, Understanding Scotland, the sociology of a nation, New York, Routledge, 2001. 6 Since regional geography is much less in favour in the Anglo-Saxon world than in France, I must here send the reader to publications in French: CLAVAL, Paul, Initiation à la géographie régionale, Paris, Nathan, 1995. WACKERMANN, Gabriel, Géographie

Scotland and Europe, Scotland in Europe

277

régionale, Paris, Ellipses, 2002. LÉVY, Jacques, LUSSAULT, Michel, Dictionnaire de la géographie et de l’espace des sociétés, Paris, Belin, 2003. 7 See HOBSBAWN, Eric, Nations and Nationalism since 1870, Cambridge, CUP, 1990. 8 The Irish government was absolutely free to shape the limits of the two newly created euro-regions (LTSU 2s) at will, yet coherence with the pre-existing set of eight regions of the lesser grade (LTSU3s) was requested. Therefore the ‘poor’ new euro-region was simply made out the three less affluent regions (Border, Midlands, and Western). The irony is that the poorest part of the country belongs to the other euro-region and fails to receive any European support. 9 See LABASSE, Jean, L’Europe des régions, Paris, Flammarion, 1991. and PEYRONI, Jean, Territoires, Le schéma de développement de l’espace communautaire, Paris, La Documentation Française, 2002. 10 Neither the Scottish Development Department (1964) nor the Scottish Development Agency (1975) had any regional programmes. 11 The prime idea was to reinforce British links with Italy, which was understood as the only possible ally in the Union, to counterbalance the then paramount alliance of France and Germany. 12 See COAKLEY, John, LAFFAN, Brigid, TODD, Jennifer, Renovation or Revolution? New Territorial Politics in Ireland and the United Kingdom, Dublin, University College Press, 2005. 13 Since 1999 there is some kind of regional authority in England: the Regional Development Agencies. But their composition is somewhat hybrid, some members being civil servants (from the Government Office for the Region, created in 1994). Those who are elected by the people are in fact local councillors, chosen by their peers. Besides, the financial power of these agencies is limited to the control of specific projects, notably those financed by Brussels, and not to public spending at large. 14 See DORLING, Daniel, THOMAS, Bethan, People and places, A 2001 Census atlas of the UK, Bristol, The Policy Press, 2004. 15 The western euro-region -West Wales and the Valleys- merges The Welsh speaking territory (Y Fro Gymraeg) along with the very English South-West corner of Wales and the very mixed area of Swansea. 16 See TUROK, Ivan, BAILEY, Nick, “A Development Strategy for Central Scotland”, Scottish Affairs, 2002, n°39, pp. 71-95. 17 The Union is preparing a regulation whereby LTSU 2s should not be peopled with less than 800,000 persons. 18 The whole of Highland & Islands is at present supported with ‘Objective 1’, a program designed for areas whose GDP per person is below 75 % of the European average. One notices that British concern for this area is ancient. The ‘Highlands and Islands Development Board, launched as early as 1965, is one of the few examples of British regional policy to be found before the country joined Europe in 1973. 19 HEGGIE, Gordon, “The Story So Far: The Role of the Scottish Parliament’s European Committee in the UK-EU Policy Cycle”, Scottish Affairs, 2003, n°44, pp. 114-131. 20 Scottish Affairs (n°39, Spring 2002, p.72) 21 City-region is in itself a very telling word, for it is only used elsewhere in Europe to refer to Bremen and Hamburg, both enjoying the status of Länder.

278

22

The Region: An Obstacle for Scotland on the way to Europe

LYNCH, Peter, Scottish Government and Politics an Introduction, Edinburgh, University Press, 2001. p. 157

SCOTLAND’S ATTITUDE TO THE EUROPEAN CONSTITUTION: THE END OF THE PRO-EUROPEAN ERA? CARINE BERBERI, UNIVERSITY OF MONTPELLIER 1

The European Constitution results from a double process. First, it is the outcome of long and vigorous debates within the Convention on the Future of Europe which started in February 2002. This Convention which brought together representatives of the Member States, European Parliament, national parliaments and Commission, produced a draft treaty establishing a Constitution for Europe in July 2003. Second, it is also the fruit of the labour of the Intergovernmental Conference which allowed the member states of the European Union to negotiate and agree on changes to this treaty between October 2003 and June 2004. After coming to an agreement on a text very similar to the draft treaty proposed by the Convention, member states now have to ratify the Constitutional Treaty according to their own constitutional procedures, i. e., either by parliament or by a referendum, for the Constitution to come into force. Until last June, examining Scotland’s viewpoint on the European Constitution seemed very appropriate since the British government had announced quite unexpectedly on April 20th, 2004 that they intended to let Parliament debate and decide upon it, before organizing a referendum on this issue1. Even though the questions concerning the European Union (EU) are not devolved issues - the Scottish Executive is not allowed to take decisions on such matters - the opinion of the Scots was worth analysing since they were also asked to give their opinion on this text. Since then the referendum has been called into question by the “no” votes in the French and Dutch referendums. On June 6th, 2005, Jack Straw, the British Foreign Secretary, announced the Government would not set a date for the Second Reading of the European Union Bill - which would allow the UK to ratify the treaty by referendum - until the consequences of these two plebiscites were not clarified2.

280

Scotland’s Attitude to the European Constitution: The End of the Pro-European Era?

Nonetheless, this question still deserves to be examined insofar as the beginning of a pre-referendum debate brought to the fore the rather hostile attitude of the Scottish population to the European Constitution. This is quite surprising since Scotland has been the most pro-European British nations over the past few years, as exemplified by its stance on the single currency. Not only did the Scottish population seem opposed to the European Constitution, but the Scottish National Party, (SNP), which had supported European issues since the 1980s, also adopted a hostile policy towards the European Constitution and encouraged the electorate to vote against this text. How can such a reversal be explained? Has Scotland really become less favourable to the European Union or can this change be explained by other reasons? We will try to answer these questions, studying first the policy followed by the main Scottish political parties towards the European constitution. Second we will examine the viewpoint of Scottish society.

A divided Scottish Parliament If we analyse the viewpoint adopted by the leadership of the main political parties sitting at Holyrood, the Scottish Parliament, in the pre-referendum debate on the European Constitution, we can distinguish two main groups: the supporters composed of the Scottish Labour Party, the Scottish Liberal Democrat Party, as well as the Scottish Green Party; and the opponents which include the Scottish Conservative Party, the Scottish Socialist Party (SSP) and the SNP. Since the SNP was the only party which followed a surprising policy towards the European Constitution, a policy marking a break with its traditional policy on European issues, we will examine the view of its leadership in a later part. As far as the supporters were concerned, they insisted on several different advantages of the Constitution: it would improve EU coherence and would ensure a widened Europe can work effectively since all the EU treaties would be replaced by a single text which is simpler and more accessible. It would also make the EU more democratic and would bring it closer to its citizens. More precisely, they brought to the fore the extension of the powers of the European Parliament as well as those of national parliaments, highlighting: the increased powers of national parliaments in European issues (and the protocol on the application of the principles of subsidiarity and proportionality); the increased transparency of the proceedings of the European Parliament and the Council of Ministers; the strengthening of the powers of the European Parliament through the extension of co-decision making which gives Parliament equal legislative powers with the Council of Ministers in an increasing number of fields (the co-

Scotland and Europe, Scotland in Europe

281

decision procedure, rebaptised as the “ordinary legislative procedure”); and the decision that the unelected European commission would be responsible to the European Parliament. Moreover, the supporters welcomed the inclusion of new measures aimed at protecting the fundamental rights of citizens. They particularly referred to the second Part of the Constitution relating to the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union, which protects the individual rights of citizens and allows individuals to bring cases before the European Court of Justice when they consider that their rights have been infringed. They also alluded to the principle of participatory democracy which introduces a right for citizens to initiate EU legislation3. Despite its enthusiasm, the support of this group was not unconditional. The Scottish Labour Party and the Scottish Greens in particular had a few reservations. Thus, the Scottish Labour Party insisted on keeping Britain’s veto in key areas, like foreign policy, taxation, social security and defence4. Those fears concerning the transfer of powers from member states to European institutions were also shared by the Scottish Greens: .. the Greens have major concerns over areas such as the common foreign and security policy, commitments to support nuclear power, the removal of veto powers over privatisation of public services and rights for asylum-seekers and non-EU citizens.5

Unsurprisingly, the viewpoint of the supporters also reflected that of the Scottish Executive, which has been a coalition between the Scottish Labour Party and the Scottish Liberal Democrat Party since May 1999. Thus, the Scottish Executive backed the European Constitution for almost the same reasons as those we have just mentioned, adding a new argument: the text would also improve the position of Scotland within the EU. In particular the Scottish Executive highlighted that it was the first time a text had referred to the increasing role of sub-national/devolved parliaments, and that it offered new possibilities for collaboration in tackling organised crime and international terrorism6. Once again, this support was not without reservation since the Scottish Executive, like the Scottish Labour Party, insisted on protecting Scottish interests: it did not want the Constitution to take new powers away from Scotland in such areas as taxation, defence and social security7. Contrary to the supporters, the opponents were far less united. Each party used different types of arguments against the Constitution. If we first focus on the Scottish Socialist Party (SSP), it used arguments typical of the Socialist left, regarding the Constitution as anti-socialist, undemocratic, and as a means for the EU to promote a big-business agenda throughout Europe:

282

Scotland’s Attitude to the European Constitution: The End of the Pro-European Era? The proposed new European Constitution will massively reinforce the bureaucratic centralist and pro-big business character of the European Union…If adopted, it will shift even more power away from elected national, regional and local government to the bankers and bureaucrats of Frankfurt and Brussels.8

Not only did the SSP criticize the new transfer of powers to the EU brought about by the Constitution, but also the undemocratic nature of this text which had been drafted by an elite, “an unelected club”, without taking the interests of European citizens into account. Thus, the party also disapproved of a large number of provisions of the Constitution, considering they would threaten Scotland’s sovereignty and Scotland’s interests. The amendment moved by Tommy Sheridan on April 29th, 2004 made it quite clear: according to the SSP, the Constitution would undermine Scottish public services by opening the door to privatisations; it would jeopardise the existence of the fishing industry by engraving in stone the Common Fisheries Policy; it would transfer powers over energy to the EU, which could later prevent Scotland from nationalising its oil, gas and electricity industries; it would lead to further militarization of the European continent by compelling the member states to reinforce their military might; and it would tighten the grip of the largest and wealthiest nations at the expense of smaller countries9. The SSP considered this loss of power as rather problematic because it feared the larger nation states of Europe might then block Scotland’s right to self-determination: The European Constitution will … give carte blanche to large multi-national states, such as Spain and the United Kingdom to deny minority nations within these states the right to genuine self-determination.10

Finally, the SSP was opposed to any move towards establishing a European defence force, and insisted on the right of all member states to veto common foreign policy11. The main reason explaining the opposition of the Scottish Conservative Party to the Constitutional treaty was also the transfer of powers the text would bring about in a large number of fields. Nevertheless, its arguments were of a much less general nature than those of the SSP since the Scottish Conservatives were particularly concerned about the consequences the Constitution could have in five main areas: - employment and the economy: new regulations would be imposed on British businesses, which would then be less competitive. Furthermore, significant changes could be introduced in the field of industrial relations: the Charter of Fundamental Rights would give the European Court of Justice more powers to

Scotland and Europe, Scotland in Europe

283

interfere in Britain’s employment practices, which could mean the imposition of more burdens on business and the granting of new powers to trade unions. - asylum and immigration: the creation of a “common immigration policy” and a “common European asylum system” would put an end to the right of veto of member states over many aspects of these policies. - international crime: the EU would be able to make laws on criminal procedure and to decide on the definition of certain crimes, without national vetoes. - environment: for the first time, energy and environment would be classified as a “shared competence” between member states and the EU. - foreign affairs and defence: the EU Foreign Minister would advance EU rather than British interests. Besides, a single European foreign policy would be likely to provoke muddle and confusion since there would be a duplication of effort between NATO and EU defence.12

In addition to their opposition to the transfer of increasing powers to Brussels, the Scottish Conservatives even called into question the idea of a “European Constitution”. They thought a Constitution could only be worked out by one sole country. When several countries signed a text, it should be called a “treaty”. Consequently, they considered that the European Constitution would mean the end of individual nation states by giving birth to a European super-state, to which all powers would be transferred13. Despite their differences, supporters and opponents shared some common ground. On the one hand, they did not want the Constitution to threaten Scotland’s interests and transfer new powers away from Westminster and Holyrood to European institutions. On the other hand, they all backed the idea of a referendum. Owing to the significant changes brought about by the European Constitution, they considered that the British should have a say on whether Britain signed up to the text. This opinion was also shared by the SNP whose policy we will now examine. The SNP adopted a surprising attitude on the European Constitution: although it had been a pro-European party since the 1980s, it decided to reject the Constitutional treaty.

Fisheries: a top SNP priority to oppose the EU Constitution Contrary to the other political parties, the opposition of the SNP to the European Constitution could mainly be explained by a single reason, fisheries, as exemplified by this quote: “The SNP supports an EU constitution in principle. However we will not support a constitution that claims exclusive competence over fisheries resources”14. The main problem was that Articles I12 and I-13 of the Constitution listed under proposed “exclusive competences” of the EU: “the conservation of marine biological resources under the common fisheries policy”15. The SNP considered that would be a disastrous provision for

284

Scotland’s Attitude to the European Constitution: The End of the Pro-European Era?

Scotland: “We have seen far too many of our great, national industries destroyed. We cannot sit back and watch another one - fishing - go the same way”16. Consequently, they wanted fisheries resources, including the conservation of marine biological resources, to be classified in the same area as agriculture and to become an area of shared competence, which gave more freedom to member states [article I-14 (2)]17. At the start of the negotiations on the Constitutional Treaty in July 2003, the SNP did not categorically reject the text, announcing that the future of the Scottish industry would be a top priority in this context and that they would campaign to get fisheries removed as an exclusive EU competence from the draft European Constitution. Yet, being unable to remove the clause, they made it quite clear in December 2003 that they would not support a text enshrining Brussels’ control over fisheries18. In the run-up to the 2004 European elections and to the 2005 General Election they consequently campaigned for a renegotiation of the EU Constitution. In the event that the text was not ratified by one or more countries, they were even in favour of a recalled Convention to redraft the Constitution. Why did the SNP adopt such a hostile attitude towards Article 12 of the Constitution? First, they refused to give the EU institutions an exclusive power over fishing owing to the past failures of the Common Fisheries Policy (CFP)19: The Common Fisheries policy has been ruinous for the Scottish fishing industry, and the Government must reject the crazy idea of making a situation even worse by designating fisheries an exclusive competence of the EU.20

Second, accepting Article 12 would mean that Scotland would lose power over the conservation of marine biological resources for good since it would make any change in the CFP much more difficult21 : … Article 12 of the constitution …if agreed, would enshrine EU ‘exclusive competence’ over fisheries. This would make it much more difficult to reform the Common Fisheries Policy which most people agree has failed.22

On the contrary, rejecting it would ensure Scotland’s control over fisheries and could be a first step towards reforming the CFP, which could eventually bring about its demise: There can be no doubt that the removal of fishing as an exclusive competence of the European Union would be a major step forward for the fishing industry in Scotland and an historic opportunity to ditch the hated CFP.23

Scotland and Europe, Scotland in Europe

285

As exemplified by these reasons, the SNP opposition to the EU Constitutional Treaty could essentially be explained by a deep hostility to the CFP which alone justified the rejection of the text. According to the SNP, joining the CFP had been disastrous for Scotland for several reasons. Firstly, it had led to much waste because it had forced Scottish fishermen to throw perfectly good fish back dead into the sea24. Secondly, it was clearly mismanaged since it had failed to protect some key stocks whilst preventing fishermen from catching stocks that were in plentiful supply, such as prawn, haddock and monkfish. Above all, the SNP blamed the EU for imposing measures to restrict cod catches in the North Sea where cod was in danger of extinction in the short term. These measures forbade Scottish vessels to catch as much haddock as they wanted since they fished for cod and haddock at the same time. Consequently, they called for a decoupling of cod management from other species, particularly haddock25. Thirdly, the CFP was considered as unfair because it prevented Scottish fishermen from fishing in the North Sea whereas the other countries were allowed to do so: EU control of Scotland’s fishing industry has been a catastrophe. It has led to half the fleet being decommissioned and thousands of job losses. To add insult to injury, our fishermen have been forced to watch as foreign boats have been left free to plunder Scottish haddock grounds while Scots boats are banned from fishing.26

Finally, the CFP had led to a rise in unemployment in Scotland’s fishing industry, as shown by this quote. Despite its rejection of the Constitution, the SNP had not become antiEuropean even though its attitude had been hardening slightly for a few months: The SNP is a European party, we want to see a Europe that works for all its people. The Constitution is not entirely bad but we are not prepared to support a document that ignores this vital Scottish industry.27

Until June 2005, it even acknowledged that the Constitution had a few advantages: We can support the idea of a constitution. It gives a framework for the kind of EU the SNP wishes to see and to participate in - a more effective and democratic confederation of states choosing to share sovereignty over defined policy areas for mutual benefit.28

More precisely, it explained that EU legislation would be more accessible since all the treaties would be simplified in a single text, European citizens would be

286

Scotland’s Attitude to the European Constitution: The End of the Pro-European Era?

guaranteed fundamental rights and liberties, and the areas where common policies are developed would be better defined29. Therefore, how can such a hostile attitude to the Constitutional Treaty be explained? Is Article 12 of the Constitution the sole reason for such a negative stance? That is rather unlikely. A close study of the SNP publications shows that the party mainly feared that the European Constitution might be detrimental to Scottish interests and might weaken the country. Highlighting that Scotland was not a nation state in its own right, that the Scottish Parliament was not a national Parliament, and that the British government totally failed to represent Scottish interests, the SNP thought Scotland would be unable to play a full part in such a Europe. Thus, it wanted to ensure that Scotland’s voice was heard and its influence felt where the decisions were taken. Becoming independent was a way to make it possible since Scotland would no longer be in “the second class”, but at the top table. The SNP particularly used the example of fishing to justify its call for independence: As we enter into a debate and referendum in the UK about a European Constitution, it is abundantly clear that Scotland needs the powers and equality of status of Independence in Europe, in order to protect and promote our own needs. With Independence in Europe, Scotland would veto the ridiculous proposal in the draft Constitution to make fisheries an exclusive EU competence.30

The case for independence in Europe became all the more compelling within an enlarged EU as only national parliaments would really be able to influence European policies: Member states… will be the collective decision-makers on policy….. Scotland should not settle for the second class status that the draft constitution bestows on regional parliaments. Our place is at the top table and there has never been a better time than now to make that case…… If Slovakia, Lithuania, Latvia, Slovenia, Estonia, Cyprus, Malta, can and will have seats at the top table, why not Scotland? 31

The SNP considered this reasoning all the more logical as these new countries had populations similar to or smaller than Scotland. Consequently, the SNP had followed a new policy towards Europe in this debate. Since the beginning of the 1980s, it had always backed European initiatives, using Europe to make its call for independence more credible. Indeed, an independent Scotland within Europe was more likely to survive economically than a totally independent Scotland - in answer to the arguments

Scotland and Europe, Scotland in Europe

287

formerly used against total independence32. From now on, the SNP advocated independence so as to be able to play a full part in the negotiations with the other member states and help build the kind of Europe it wanted. Scotland’s membership of the EU was not called into question but the SNP did not want the EU to threaten Scotland’s national interests.

An anti-European stance shared by Scottish society Although Scottish society had always adopted a more favourable attitude to the European Union than the other British nations, it was also rather hostile to the European Constitution. This opposition was noticeable on different levels. First of all, most of the Scottish population rejected the Constitutional Treaty. Thus, the ICM opinion polls carried out since April 2004 have highlighted that a small - or even sometimes big - majority of Scottish people would vote against the Constitution if a referendum was held: 53% against (with 37% in favour of the text) in June 2004, 62% against (with 23% in favour) in November 2004, 49% against (with 34% in favour) in February 2005, and 49% against (with 35% in favour) in April 2005. Nevertheless, the opposition of Scottish people should be qualified. First, the gap between supporters and opponents has progressively narrowed since 2004. Second, compared with the other British nations, the Scots have backed the Constitution in greater numbers since 2004: 37% (compared with 27.5% on average in England and Wales) in June 2004, 23% (compared with 23%) in November 2004, and 34% (compared with 25.5%) in February 2005. Third, the number of respondents who said they had yet to make up their minds remained quite high since 10% were undecided in June 2004, 15% in November 2004, 18% in February 2005 and 12% in April 2005. Fourth, the wording of the referendum question set by the British government seems to induce Scottish people to vote “yes”: in February 2005 49% of voters answered “yes” to the question “Should the United Kingdom approve the treaty establishing a constitution for the European Union?”, while 22% answered “no” and 29% said they did know how they would vote. These findings consequently show that the die is not cast and that a referendum on the Constitution is far from a foregone conclusion. The Scots could be encouraged to vote in favour of the Constitutional treaty when they see the benefits of being part of the EU and when a serious debate has really started on this issue. This is all the more likely as many Scottish people are still undecided on the EU document and would like to be better informed on this text. In April 2004, an ICM poll, which focused on the respondents who did know whether Britain should sign up to the EU constitution, revealed that 53% of these voters did not know anything about it33.

288

Scotland’s Attitude to the European Constitution: The End of the Pro-European Era?

If we now focus on the reasons explaining such a reluctant attitude towards the Constitution, it can mainly be explained by the refusal of Scottish people to give more powers to the EU. Thus, the ICM polls carried out in April and June 2004 highlighted that 58% of Scottish voters thought the Constitution would transfer new powers from Britain to the EU, while 47% on average shared that opinion in England and Wales. Yet, 62% of Scottish voters refused to give more powers to the EU, insisting that the British government should have the final say in the following areas: law and order, human rights, economic development, business regulation, health and safety, taxation, defence and foreign policy34. Furthermore, a few Scottish people seemed to fear the European Constitution might be detrimental to Scotland’s independence. On March 1st, 2005 The Scotsman published the letter of a reader who argued that Scotland had never faced such a serious threat to its national sovereignty since June 23rd, 1314. This date refers to the battle of Bannockburn where the Scottish force, under the command of Robert Bruce, defeated the English in the wars of Scottish independence. According to the reader, accepting the Constitution would make it more difficult for Scotland to become independent because of the numerous difficulties it would create35. As far as Scottish companies are concerned, analysing their opinion on the Constitutional treaty is rather difficult since few documents highlight their policy on this issue. Scottish bosses seemed to share the same opinion as British business leaders who had clearly shown that they rejected the EU text through the Confederation of British Industry (CBI) and the Institute of Directors (IoD). Indeed, Scottish business leaders were not deeply concerned about the victory of the “no vote” in the French referendum of May 2005. Although they acknowledged that the treaty would make decision-making easier within the EU and would reduce bureaucracy, they were scared of the increasing centralisation and the loss of sovereignty it would bring about. Besides, they thought it would hamper Scotland’s laggard economy. Like the Scottish population, they were particularly worried about the transfer of powers from Scotland to the EU. Thus, CBI Scotland and The Scottish Institute of Directors objected publicly to the fact that the Constitution would increase EU powers, particularly over employment and social policy, and would do nothing to make the EU more competitive36. Despite these reservations, one should note that Scottish business leaders preferred to remain silent and ready to be swayed one way or the other, which may explain why few of their publications deal with the European Constitution. Thus, in May 2005, a spokesman for the Scottish Council for Development and Industry37 made it quite clear that business people wanted the government to give them further information and to organise a “mature debate” on this issue before taking a firm decision:

Scotland and Europe, Scotland in Europe

289

Our position is that the government needs to do more to inform the public and business and to encourage a vigorous debate before any referendum. We still have an open mind about the treaty, though with the UK taking over the EU presidency later this year we hope to be able to make a decision on the basis of that. We want to hear more of the debate, and we want government to give business further information on the issues.38

Scottish trade unions also adopted a rather cautious attitude to the European Constitution. At the 2004 Annual Congress of the Scottish Trades Union Congress39 (STUC), they did not declare themselves in favour of or against the text, but only adopted a resolution which called for a referendum on this issue owing to the significant changes the EU Constitution would bring about40. In September 2004, the Trades Union Congress (TUC) took a similar line deferring a vote on the Constitution after the General Council had issued a statement welcoming proposals for a referendum, but saying that it would be inappropriate to adopt a formal position before further debate41. In fact, this caution also reflected the fear of losing a vote in favour of the Constitutional Treaty since the debate on the text had already exposed deep splits within the trade union movement over the direction in which Europe was moving. While some trade unions backed the Constitution, many, and particularly the biggest trade unions, were against it. UNISON, the public service union, for instance, blamed the Constitution for promoting privatisations within the EU and cutbacks in public spending42. As far as the Transport and General Workers’ Union (TGWU) and AMICUS were concerned, they were considering campaigning for a “no” vote if the British government kept on rejecting any EU initiative aimed at securing new rights and protections for British workers and at improving their lot43. One should note that at the 2005 Annual Congress of the STUC, no motion was proposed on the EU Constitution since the British government had decided the referendum, planned for 2006, would not take place. On the contrary, at the 2005 TUC Congress, most trade unions voted in favour of a resolution deeply hostile to the Constitution and rejected an amendment calling for a period of reflection before taking any decision on this issue44.

Conclusion: the rise of “euro-scepticism”? Consequently, Scotland has not really adopted a hostile attitude to the Constitution, but has rather remained cautious in the hope of having more information on this issue. Most of Scotland’s population, business leaders and trade unions still have an open mind about it and have called for a serious debate on the treaty. They are above all concerned about the transfer of new powers to the EU institutions, which may be surprising since Scotland has been used to sharing its sovereignty with other nations within the United Kingdom since

290

Scotland’s Attitude to the European Constitution: The End of the Pro-European Era?

1707 (Act of Union). Nevertheless, they recognize the significance of the text and, generally speaking, they do not seem to have become more hostile to the EU. As far as Scotland’s political parties are concerned, all of them except the SNP have followed a predictable policy on the EU Constitution, which was in line with their traditional stance on European issues. Only the SNP surprisingly rejected the Constitutional treaty, criticizing the Common Fisheries Policy and fearing the text might weaken Scotland within an enlarged EU. Last June, the SNP even took a tougher stand: after the French and Dutch referendums, Alex Salmond, the SNP leader, gave a great number of arguments against the Constitution in a speech delivered at the SNP’s National Council45. Even though we may wonder about the increasingly anti-European stance adopted by the SNP on European issues over the past few years, we cannot consequently say Scotland has become more euro-sceptic. A referendum on the Constitution is far from a foregone conclusion and it is very difficult to predict its outcome. In the meantime, one should remain cautious and not give any final judgement. One will only be really able to analyse Scotland’s attitude to the European Constitution once the British government has organised a debate on this issue in the run-up to a referendum.

Notes 1

M. TEMPEST, “Blair confirms EU referendum U-turn”, The Guardian, 20 April 2004. See the speech delivered by Jack Straw in the House of Commons on June 6th, 2005. 3 See the following documents: “Scotland forward, not back”, The Scottish Labour Party manifesto 2005, p. 85-86; “Making Europe Work for Scotland”, The Scottish Liberal Democrat European Election Manifesto 2004; “The Real Alternative”, The Scottish Liberal Democrat General Election Manifesto 2005, p. 6.; “Make Europe Green. A Manifesto for a Sustainable Europe”, The Scottish Green European Election 2004 Manifesto, p. 20; “People, Planet, Peace”, The Scottish Green Westminster Election Manifesto 2005, p. 15; G. BAXTER, “Scottish Green MSPs Comment on Debate over the Draft EU Constitution”. 4 Scottish Labour Party, “Scotland forward, not back”, The Scottish Labour Party manifesto 2005, p. 85-86. 5 G. BAXTER, “Scottish Green MSPs Comment on Debate over the Draft EU Constitution”. (http://www.scottishgreens.org.uk) 6 Amendment moved by Andy Kerr (Minister for Finance and Public Services) on April 29, 2004 in the Scottish Parliament (col. 7875). 7 See the answers given by First Minister Jack McConnell on April 29, 2004 at First Minister’s Question Time in the Scottish Parliament (cols. 7922-7925). 8 Scottish Socialist Party, “For a different Europe”, European Election Manifesto 2004. 9 Scottish Parliament, Official Report, 29 April 2004, col. 7884. 2

Scotland and Europe, Scotland in Europe

10

291

Ibid. Scottish Socialist Party, “For a different Europe”, European Election Manifesto 2004 12 Scottish Conservatives, “Putting Britain First”, The Conservative European Manifesto. 13 Ibid. , p. 5. 14 SNP, “Our policies for Europe”, 2005. (http://www.snp.org) 15 “When the Constitution confers on the Union exclusive competence in a specific area, only the Union may legislate and adopt legally binding acts, the Member States being able to do so themselves only if so empowered by the Union or for the implementation of acts adopted by the Union” [article I-12 (1)]. 16 SNP, A Constitution for Europe, May 2005. (http://www.snp.org) 17 When the Constitution confers on the Union a competence shared with the Member States in a specific area, the Union and the Member States shall have the power to legislate and adopt legally binding acts in that area. The Member States shall exercise their competence to the extent that the Union has not exercised, or has decided to cease exercising, its competence [article I-12 (2)]. 18 SNP, “Swinney says ‘No’ to EU Constitution”, 8 December 2003. 19 SNP, “Vote for Scotland”, 2004 European Manifesto, p. 12. 20 SNP, “Salmond meets Downing Street strategy unit on fishing”, 19 August 2003. 21 SNP, “EU Constitution White Paper Misleading for Fisheries”, 9 September 2004. 22 SNP, “Deadlock in SNP talks with Government on Fisheries”, 26 May 2004. 23 SNP, “First Minister standing in way of deal to save fishing industry”, 28 April 2004. 24 SNP, “Salmond presents Fisheries Jurisdiction Bill”, 2 March 2004. 25 SNP, “Fisheries debate in Commons - Crunch time for Scottish fishing industry”, 9 December 2003. 26 SNP, “Fishing must be UK ‘red line’ in EU Constitution”, 26 March 2004. 27 SNP, “Government misses Golden Opportunity on Constitution”, 29 October 2004. 28 SNP, A Constitution for Europe, May 2005. 29 Ibid. 30 SNP, “Salmond address to British-Irish Council conference in Cork”, 20 April 2004. 31 SNP, “SNP to relaunch Independence in Europe campaign”, 7 July 2003. 32 C. PILKINGTON, Britain in the European Union today, Manchester: Manchester University Press, 1995, p. 208. 33 See the following polls carried out by ICM: “EU Constitution Survey”, April 22-24, 2004; “EU Survey”, June 18-20, 2004; “EU Constitution Survey”, November 17-18, 2004; “EU Constitution Survey”, February 2-3, 2004; “BBC Scotland Poll”, April 2005. (http://www.icmresearch.co.uk) 34 ICM, “EU Constitution Survey”, April 22-24, 2004. ICM, “EU Survey”, June 18-20, 2004. 35 J. McGILL, “Sovereignty at risk”, The Scotsman, 1st March 2005: (http://www.scotsman.com) 36 C. DONALD, “Scots unsure what hand to play on constitution”, The Scotsman, 31 May 2005. 37 The Scottish Council for Development and Industry (SCDI) is an independent organisation which seeks to strengthen Scotland’s economic competitiveness and sustainable prosperity. It was created in 1931, and today is supported by around 1,200 11

292

Scotland’s Attitude to the European Constitution: The End of the Pro-European Era?

members across Scotland’s manufacturing and service sectors, universities and colleges, local government and enterprise networks, trade associations and professional bodies, arts organisations, churches and trade unions. 38 C. DONALD, “Scots unsure what hand to play on constitution”, The Scotsman, 31 May 2005. 39 The STUC is Scotland’s trade union centre. It is independent from the TUC, although they work closely together. 40 STUC, 2004 Annual Congress – Congress Decisions Booklet, p. 91: (http://www.stuc.org.uk) 41 TUC, Congress Decisions, 2004. (http://www.tuc.org.uk) 42 UNISON, “UNISON rejects Europe of neoliberalism”, UNISON News, 23 June 2005. 43 D. SIMPSON, T. WOODLEY, “We can’t back a yes vote”, The Guardian, 30 June 2004. 44 TUC, Resolutions Carried, 2005. 45 SNP, “Salmond address to SNP National Council”, 4 June 2005.

IS SCOTLAND AT A CROSSROADS IN VIEW OF EUROPEAN INTEGRATION? ANNIE THIEC, UNIVERSITY OF NANTES

In its manifesto for the European elections of June 2004 the Scottish National Party claimed that “Scotland’s problem is not Europe – it is our lack of a voice in Europe1”, adding that only when Scotland became independent and a full Member State of the European Union would she be able to defend her interests in Brussels. What was remarkable about the 2004 European elections was that they were the first to be held in an enlarged Europe of 25 Member States. Indeed in this context the question of the participation of small “non state nations” endowed with legislative powers, like Scotland, in the decision-making process became a crucial issue, all the more so as among the ten newcomers some had acceded to independence only recently. Besides, nations like Scotland were in charge of implementing a large part of the European legislation. As a matter of fact, the question of the status accorded to subnational governmental institutions in the EU and of their role vis-à-vis the other two levels of governance, namely national and European, had been part of the debate on the future of Europe initiated by the EU heads of government at the Nice summit in December 2000. The Declaration of Nice indeed called for a “wider and deeper debate about the future of the EU”2 among all interested parties, including not just politicians but also representatives of civil society. The White Paper on European Governance3 published thereafter by the European Commission, in July 2001, contributed to the debate which led four years later to the drafting of the Treaty establishing a Constitution for Europe, finally signed by the 25 heads of government in Rome on 29 October 2004. Central to the debate on EU governance and on the future of the EU is the question of the loss of confidence in politics in general, and in the European institutions in particular, on the part of European citizens. The EU institutions are indeed criticised both for being too remote and at the same time interfering too much in the domestic affairs of the Member States. Besides, the treaties signed by the Member States, be it the Treaty on European Union (signed at Maastricht), the Treaty of Nice, or more recently the Treaty establishing a

294

Is Scotland at a Crossroads in view of European Integration ?

Constitution for Europe, are from a legal point of view international agreements signed by States. These treaties therefore commit these States, which implies that, in the framework of the Union, national constitutional arrangements within Member States do not concern the EU and are indeed outwith its range of competence. In other words the EU does not take into account the devolution of powers to subnational institutions within Member States. Yet around one citizen in two lives in a region/nation with its own legislative powers4. The regional level of governance has been officially recognised indeed since the coming into force of the Treaty of Maastricht in 1993, but the subnational institutions have only been granted advisory status. As Michael Keating explains, however, in the context of globalisation on the one hand, and of continental integration on the other hand, we have entered a new era described as “post-sovereignty”, in which the state has lost its monopoly of ultimate authority, and sovereignty is “dispersed and divided” between a number of supranational and subnational levels of governance5. In this regard, seven European constitutional regions6, including Scotland, signed a political declaration in May 2001 in which they complained that the institutional architecture of the EU, which had initially been designed for unitary states, was no longer adequate today, as several of these States had devolved powers to subnational institutions7. The signatories asked inter alia that the crucial role they played regarding the implementation of EU legislation be recognised. Besides they wanted to be invited to participate in the discussions on the future of Europe, arguing that as they were closer to the population than central governments they could help bridge the gap between EU institutions and citizens. In the case of post-devolution Scotland, as the European Committee of the Scottish Parliament explained in its “Report on the Governance of the European Union and the Future of Europe : What Role for Scotland?”, published in December 2001, the discussions and reflection on EU governance and the future of Europe must also embrace the “challenge of integration within the UK as a Member State”8. Indeed, the question of the position of non state nations in relation to the EU became even more topical in the context of the decision by the European Council in June 2005 to suspend the ratification process of the Treaty establishing a Constitution for Europe, following the referenda in France and Denmark, and of the UK six-month presidency of the EU starting on 1 July 2005. In this context of uncertainty regarding the contents of a future reform of European Union institutions, where does Scotland stand as a nation with legislative powers? And are the Nationalists right to say that only independence in Europe will ensure that Scotland’s voice is heard in Brussels?

Scotland and Europe, Scotland in Europe

295

A closer examination of the status of subnational polities within the EU will enable us to understand better the problems with which nations like Scotland are confronted. The position of Scotland, however, is also made more complex and indeed ambiguous as a result of the institutional arrangements set up within the UK as part of Labour’s devolution plans. Lastly, we can wonder to what extent the future reform of EU governance may offer new prospects to the regions/nations with legislative powers.

The paradox of the regions/nations with legislative powers in the European Union As the founding treaties of the European Union are legally speaking international agreements, and not a constitution, and are therefore binding on the Member States who signed them, not only are subnational institutions not taken into consideration by the EU, but European matters fall within the domain of foreign affairs which traditionally is the exclusive prerogative of central governments. In the case of the United Kingdom, even in post-devolution Scotland, the power to make decisions regarding the “relations with the European Communities (and their institutions)” is therefore vested in the London Government, as stated in the Scotland Act 19989. Yet the power to make laws has been devolved to the Scottish Parliament in a number of areas which overlap European matters, notably agriculture, fishing, the environment, transport or regional policy. And under section 53 of the Scotland Act 1998, the Scottish Executive is responsible for “observing and implementing obligations under Community law”. In other words, the new Scottish institutions, Parliament and the Executive, are in charge of enforcing EU directives and regulations although they had no say in their drafting. It is therefore hardly a surprise that, in view of the latest EU enlargement to include small States like Estonia, Latvia or a fortiori Malta, which are now full Member States of the EU, and therefore represented in the European Council as well as in the Commission, Scotland should feel unfairly treated, considering that in spite of having her own Parliament with law-making powers she is not directly represented in these institutions. Admittedly the Maastricht Treaty, by officially recognising the regional level of governance, did improve the position of non state nations within the EU. Thus since 1993, Member States which have devolved legislative powers to their regions have been entitled to be represented in the Council by ministers from the subnational institutions whenever the Council is to discuss an issue which affects the regions directly. However, in such cases the delegates from the regions participate in the discussions as representatives of the Member State and have a duty to defend the position and the interests of the Member State even if they differ from their own10. The

296

Is Scotland at a Crossroads in view of European Integration ?

Treaty on European Union also provided for the establishment of a Committee of the Regions composed of representatives of regional and local authorities11. We may therefore wonder to what extent these provisions enable Scotland to have greater influence on the European decision-making process. As regards the first provision, British delegations to the European Council have sometimes in the past included a Scottish minister, for example when the issue discussed concerned fishing policy, which is a devolved matter12. Indeed in the Memorandum of Understanding and Supplementary Agreements, which regulates the relationship between the UK Government, Scottish Ministers, the Cabinet of the National Assembly for Wales and the Northern Ireland Executive Committee, the Concordat on Coordination of European Union Policy IssuesScotland provides that the Scottish Executive will be involved as directly and as fully as possible in decision making on EU matters which touch on devolved areas (including non-devolved matters which impact on devolved areas and non-devolved matters which will have a distinctive impact of importance in Scotland)13.

Thus Ministers and officials of the Scottish Executive are to take part in the preliminary discussions aimed at defining the position of the UK on European policy issues which touch on devolved matters. It is also stated however that the Scottish Executive will have to “adhere to the resulting UK line” which itself will “reflect the interests of the UK as a whole”. It may happen therefore that because of the UK position which Scotland must in all cases abide by, her own interests might not always be best defended. As for the second treaty provision mentioned above, Scotland sends four representatives to the Committee of the Regions out of the 24 UK delegates14. If we compare the number of seats for Scotland with the number of seats allocated to Ireland, Finland or Denmark, which are all similar to Scotland in terms of population figures, there is no doubt that their status as independent states works to their advantage, since they have 9 seats each15. Besides the latest newcomers also benefit from a better representation than Scotland in terms of numbers: Cyprus, for instance, sends 6 delegates to the Committee of the Regions, while Latvia, Estonia and Slovenia send 7 each. Yet, the Committee of the Regions was initially created as a forum for the regional and local bodies of the Member States. In any case the powers of the Committee are rather limited. Admittedly the European Commission and Council must consult the Committee when new proposals are made which have an impact, either at the local or the regional level, on issues such as social and economic cohesion, health, education or the environment, to name but a few examples16. The Committee however only submits advisory opinions: its influence therefore on the policies decided in

Scotland and Europe, Scotland in Europe

297

Brussels is limited. Besides, it has often been argued that the composition of the Committee itself was more of a handicap than an asset since the delegates sent to the Committee of the Regions may have points of view and interests which sometimes cannot easily be reconciled, depending on whether they are representatives of German Länder, of regional councils or of local authorities. Such diversity has a negative impact on cohesion and therefore also on efficiency, which does not contribute to making the Committee more visible, and indeed more credible, for the populations it was initially set up to speak for in Brussels. In the case of Scotland, prior to devolution, the Scottish delegation was exclusively composed of local councillors; since 1999, however, there has been one delegate appointed by the Scottish Executive and one by the Scottish Parliament, while the other two are appointed by local authorities. In comparison, seven of the English delegates are chosen by local authorities while the other nine are appointed by the regional chambers and assemblies. Unlike in the UK delegation, in the German or the Spanish delegations, the regional level of governance is by far more represented than the local level. The German Länder for instance send 21 delegates while local authorities only send three, and out of the 21 Spanish delegates, 17 represent the Autonomous Communities and only four represent local councils. Conversely, countries like Denmark, Estonia or Lithuania, which have no intermediate level of governance between the central State and the local authorities, only send local councillors, representing towns, cities or counties. Such disparities explain to a large degree why the regions with legislative powers decided to set up a new organisation called RegLeg which brings together all the presidents of regions with legislative powers and first met in 200017. The Committee of the Regions, however, has taken part in the discussions on EU governance and on the future of Europe; six of its members18 attended as observers the meetings of the Convention on the Future of Europe chaired by former French President Valéry Giscard d’Estaing. Indeed the Committee submitted a number of opinions to the Convention, and among them a report entitled “More Democracy, Transparency and Efficiency in the European Union” and presented to the Convention by Scotland’s First Minister, Jack McConnell in November 200219. Among the proposals contained in the report was the incorporation into the future Treaty establishing a Constitution for Europe of a definition of the principle of subsidiarity with explicit reference to the regional and local levels of governance. Jack McConnell also suggested that a code of conduct be adopted regarding consultation so that a dialogue be systematically established between the European Commission and the subnational administrations or the local authorities, not once the Commission proposals were finalised but even before they were available in draft form. Scotland’s First Minister highlighted therefore in his report the crucial role that

298

Is Scotland at a Crossroads in view of European Integration ?

regional and local governments could play in order to reconnect the Union and its citizens. Jack McConnell was undoubtedly defending here the position of the regions/nations with legislative powers, and notably that of the Scottish Executive, as evidenced by the reference he made several times to “the devolved governments” in a speech he delivered a few months earlier before the Commission on Constitutional Affairs and European Governance of the Committee of the Regions. On that occasion Scotland’s First Minister even went as far as to present the Scottish Parliament as a model of transparency for the European Union, declaring : The Scottish Parliament has made real progress over the past three years to make the process of government in Scotland more open and accountable to the people.20

The Scottish Parliament in 1999 adopted four founding principles, which are part of its Standing Orders, namely “sharing the power, accountability, access and participation, and equal opportunities”. Indeed, among the five “principles of good governance” which the European Commission, in its White Paper on European governance, recommended should be adopted by the European institutions, were openness, participation and accountability21. Yet Jack McConnell has on other occasions taken a much less ambitious position on the question of the place of Scotland in the European decisionmaking process. In a speech before the Convention on the Future of Europe in June 2002, which was aimed at bringing a new Scottish perspective into the European debate, Scotland’s First Minister did acknowledge that since the Scottish Parliament was responsible for implementing a large part of the European legislation which had an impact on the everyday lives of the people of Scotland, it could contribute in a useful and beneficial manner to the decisionmaking process of the EU. But he also said that in the context of EU enlargement, which would obviously require efforts from all the Member States, the latter must recognise that they were “stronger together and weaker apart”, adding: This also rings true for the devolved governments within the UK. In the EU, Scotland, as part of the UK benefits from the representation and influence that comes automatically to a Member State.22

In the same way, the conclusion of his speech, which summarised the position of the Scottish Executive on the future of Europe, could hardly have been more consensual:

Scotland and Europe, Scotland in Europe

299

We are pro-EU, pro-UK, pro-regional involvement and pro-reform. I think it is essential that the future EU structures which emerge from the debate recognise the important role sub-national Parliaments, such as Scotland, and regional governments can play in giving legitimacy to EU wide policies.23

What characterizes the position of the Scottish Executive on the place, both current and future, of Scotland in the European Union is ambivalence, and this ambivalence exposes the paradox of the regions/nations with legislative powers, which in the case of Scotland can partly be explained by the constitutional arrangements in place within the UK since 1999.

The ambivalence of the Scottish constitutional arrangements The ambivalence of the Scottish Executive is undoubtedly fostered by the political context of the United Kingdom: indeed Jack McConnell is a Labour First Minister under a Labour British Government. He must therefore defend the interests of Scotland as best he can, but he cannot diverge from the official British line. Indeed one can easily imagine that were the Conservative Party in office in London, tensions, and probably even conflicts, would arise between the Scottish administration and the central Government, especially on European matters where the positions of the two main British parties differ considerably; it is likely therefore that in such circumstances the Scottish Executive would distance itself more openly from London. Such ambivalence, however, is actually inherent in the devolution settlement itself. As previously said, European matters are reserved to Westminster, but the devolved Scottish Parliament is responsible for fulfilling Scotland’s European obligations as part of the UK, including the transposition and implementation of EU legislation. And although the Scottish Parliament has no decision-making power on European matters, one of its eight “mandatory committees”24 does deal with European matters. Indeed the remit of the European and External Affairs Committee is to: consider and report on proposals for European Communities legislation, on the implementation of European Communities legislation and on any European Communities Union issue.

It is interesting to note here, in connection with the ambivalence resulting from the devolution settlement, that the committee on European affairs, initially known as the “European Committee”, changed its name to the “European and External Relations Committee” in March 2003. Such a change was not the result of a revision of the Scotland Act 1998 which might have extended the powers of the Scottish Parliament to include foreign affairs, and therefore European matters too. Rather, it was meant to take

300

Is Scotland at a Crossroads in view of European Integration ?

into account a new reality, as explained in the European Committee report of November 2002 on the representation of Scotland in the Union: the Scottish Executive had signed several bilateral agreements with other autonomous regions or nations of the EU, among which Catalonia, for example, and such agreements, in accordance with the standing orders of the Scottish Parliament, must be examined by a parliamentary committee as part of the Parliament’s power of scrutiny over the Scottish Executive. Although the report leaves no doubt as to the fact that the term “External Relations” added to the title of the committee does not in any way refer to some form of external sovereignty of the kind enjoyed by a sovereign State, the change is described by the committee itself as “the proposed extension of our remit to cover ‘external relations’”25. Besides, by referring explicitly to a reserved area, which is therefore the responsibility of Westminster, it creates an ambiguity on how far the powers of the Scottish Parliament actually extend. Indeed the bilateral agreements signed by the Scottish Executive are not restricted to cultural matters but also concern trade, and could thus in the long term enable Scotland to establish its own network of external relations parallel to that of the United Kingdom, thereby giving Scotland a degree, however embryonic, of sovereignty in external affairs. In the reports published by the European Committee of the Scottish Parliament as part of the European debate on the reform of the European institutions, whether on European governance, or on the representation of Scotland in Europe, or indeed on the draft treaty establishing a constitution for Europe, the position of the committee on the place of Scotland in Europe has been at times somewhat ambiguous. Thus in the fifth report of 2002, on the representation of Scotland in Europe, the committee acknowledged that Scotland was in the European Union as a component part of the United Kingdom and that consequently its interests could not be dissociated from those of the UK26; indeed it recommended a collective approach on the part of Scotland, embodied in the concept of “Team Scotland” in which the various interested parties in Scotland should adopt a common position and speak with one voice. On the question of a Scottish Parliament presence in Brussels, however, while stating that Scotland was on the whole well represented in the EU, both through its own representatives and through the UK representation, the committee recommended that a separate office, distinct from the Scottish Executive European Union Office, be opened in Brussels to represent the Scottish Parliament there, as it would be able to establish links with other regional parliamentary offices, with the European Parliament, and also with the UK National Parliamentary Office, UKREP. According to the report, a distinct office in Brussels would indeed increase the visibility of the Scottish Parliament

Scotland and Europe, Scotland in Europe

301

and enable the devolved institution to better defend Scotland’s interests in Europe27. In the same way, while recognising that in the first few years which followed the setting up of the devolved administration in Scotland it had been a wise move on the part of the Scottish Executive EU Office (SEEUO) to “adopt a cautious and more restricted role in terms of representative activities”28 and focus rather on its main other function of collecting information, the committee recommended that from then on the SEEUO develop its activities in terms of representing Scotland’s interests. This recommendation, which could have been regarded as a call for Scotland’s emancipation from the rest of the UK, was however immediately qualified: the SEEUO was expected to develop representative activities “working in close partnership with the UK Representation in Brussels”. The sixth report of 2002, on the future of Europe, also raises some ambivalence. In many ways it seems to be a plea in favour of regions/nations with legislative powers. Thus the committee argued that “Article I of any new European treaty should recognise the EU as a Union of states, nations, ‘regions’ and peoples”29. Besides, it recommended that the ‘regions’ take part in the ratification process of any new treaty and that all the subnational legislative institutions participate in the EU decision-making process. It approved therefore of the proposal made by Alain Lamassoure MEP to grant the regions with legislative powers the status of “partners of the Union” which would give them the right to establish direct links with the European Commission. In this report, when referring to the Scotland Act 1998, not only did the committee stress the fact that the Scottish Parliament was responsible for transposing and implementing EU legislation concerning all devolved matters, but it drew on this provision to claim new rights for the devolved institution: For us, with new responsibilities (i.e the powers under the Scotland Act for the Scottish Parliament to transpose, implement and be held accountable for Community obligations) should come new rights30.

Among the rights mentioned in the report was the right to participate directly in the European decision-making process and the right to go before the European Court of Justice in order to challenge Community legislation. It seemed therefore that in this report in particular the Scottish parliamentary committee had great ambitions for Scotland in Europe, notably when it suggested for instance that the Scottish Parliament could serve as a model for the European Union and that the “pre-legislative scrutiny principles and procedures” in place in the Scottish Parliament could be adopted by the European institutions31. The Scottish Parliament itself held several plenary debates on European matters, notably on the question of whether the ratification of the Treaty

302

Is Scotland at a Crossroads in view of European Integration ?

establishing a Constitution for Europe should be by referendum, but also on EU enlargement and its repercussions for Scotland, and on the proposals contained in the draft constitutional treaty. Thus on 24 April 2004, Members of the Scottish Parliament discussed the provisions concerning the fisheries policy in a debate initiated by the Scottish National Party32. The Nationalists, who were opposed to the common fisheries policy being controlled by the EU, had indeed tabled a motion aimed at excluding this provision from the final treaty. It is important to bear in mind, however, that since Scotland is not a full member state of the EU the Scottish Parliament did not have the power to ask in its own name that the final draft of the treaty be amended; it could only address a demand to the British Government which could then defend Scotland’s position in Brussels. In such circumstances one may wonder whether Scotland, having no direct access to the negotiating table, can actually make her voice heard and defend her own interests before the European institutions, and whether the forthcoming reform of the European institutions is likely to improve the position of the regions/nations with legislative powers. What future prospects for the regions and nations with legislative powers: from being observers to becoming actors? The European Committee of the Scottish Parliament acknowledged in its “Report on the Governance of the European Union and the Future of Europe” published in December 2001 that progress had already been made in terms of the place accorded to regions in the European Union, notably with the official recognition of the regional level of governance in the Maastricht Treaty. It was more pessimistic, however, about the effective establishment of a Europe of the Regions. Thus in the introduction to its report, on the issue of regional competences the committee concluded: It might be argued that despite the talk of a ‘Europe of the Regions’ and for all the constitutional reform which has occurred in many Member States, the EU remains in the main wedded to a conception of the Member States as unitary States33.

The Scottish committee also bemoaned the fact that the Scottish representatives had too rarely participated not just in the plenary sessions of the European Council but also in the various working groups set up by the Council. Indeed between 1999, when the Scottish Parliament and Executive became operational, and the Inter-governmental Conference of Nice in December 2000, the Scottish Executive was represented in only 75 of the 4500 meetings of the working groups which took place over that period, that is to say 1.6% of the overall number. Though the Scottish parliamentary committee did not argue for

Scotland and Europe, Scotland in Europe

303

the systematic participation of Scottish representatives in all the working sessions, it claimed however that when issues were debated that fell within the competence of the Scottish Parliament, such as employment issues, for example, representatives of the devolved administration ought to take part in the discussions. On this last point, the committee criticised the Scottish Executive for contenting itself too often with a British delegation which was supposed to defend Scotland’s interests rather than just making sure that the British delegation included Scottish ministers. Since 2004, the Scottish Executive EU Office in Brussels has published beside its annual report a document entitled “Forward Look” in which are listed the EU directives likely to be adopted within the forthcoming six months and which might have an impact on, or be of interest for, Scotland. The second issue of “Forward Look” was published in July 2005, that is to say at the time when for the first time since devolution the United Kingdom was taking over the EU Presidency for six months. After a brief summary of the difficult European context following the “no” votes in the two referenda on the EU constitutional treaty in France and the Netherlands, and the failure to come to an agreement on the question of the European budget, the report highlighted the fact that the Scottish Executive intended to host thirty “Presidency events” as part of its intention to assist the British Government. On reading the document, however, one is under the impression that the objective of the Scottish Executive was to take advantage of the UK Presidency of the EU to promote Scotland abroad more than to try and take part in the decision-making process. Thus the events due to take place in Scotland were presented as “an opportunity to showcase Scottish initiatives and policies to a wide European audience […] and promote Scotland as a dynamic and welcoming country”34. Furthermore the Scottish Executive EU Office planned to organise in Brussels a series of social and cultural events “culminating in a major taste-of-Scotland buffet reception on St Andrew’s Day” which was aimed at promoting Scottish food and drink (the verb used in the document was again “showcase”) to a wide audience of MEPs, Commission members and representatives of the European regions. Only in the last paragraph was reference made to the part that the Scottish Executive would play in “the organisation of Council business” and even then it was said that this might include “in some cases” only “chairing Council working groups or taking the UK seat”35. In other words, in this document, the ambitions of the Scottish Executive for Scotland, on the eve of the UK Presidency of the European Union, seemed to be more limited than one might have expected, especially when one considers some of the declarations previously made by the First Minister36. Could the Scottish Nationalists be right then when they claim that unless Scotland

304

Is Scotland at a Crossroads in view of European Integration ?

becomes an independent state and a full member of the European Union, like Ireland or Denmark, she will never be able to defend her interests in Brussels? The Maastricht Treaty, by providing for the setting-up of the Committee of the Regions, and allowing the Member States to include in their delegations to the European Council representatives elected in their subnational institutions, has undeniably offered new opportunities to the European regions to make their voices heard. However, the regions have only been granted the status of observers of, and not actors in, the European decision-making process. Besides, when the Committee of the Regions was created in 1994, several organisations representing regions of Europe already existed37, although, unlike the CoR, they were outside the European Union organisational structure. Thus the Assembly of European Regions38, set up in 1985, calls for the recognition of the place and the role of the regions in the construction of a democratic Union close to its citizens. The AER presents itself as “the political voice of the regions and the key partner for the European and international institutions on every issue of regional competence”39. It claims to have contributed to the creation of the Congress of Local and Regional Authorities of Europe40 and indeed of the CoR. When the Assembly of European Regions came into existence, however, the Conference of Peripheral and Maritime Regions of Europe41 had already been promoting for twelve years the maritime dimension of Europe, trying to ensure that regions took part in European construction. Moreover, several new organisations have been set up since the creation of the CoR. In 1997 the Conference of European Regional Legislative Assemblies (CALRE42) was created with the aim of ensuring that the regions and nations with legislative powers were better represented within the institutional framework of the EU, and making sure that the role of the subnational parliaments was recognised and that the diversity of regional and national identities was respected. More recently, “RegLeg”, also known as the Group of Regions with Legislative Powers, was set up because the latter were not satisfied with the proportion of representatives of local authorities in the CoR, which they deemed was too high. RegLeg presents itself as a “co-operative venture of regions” whose aim is to enhance the role of the regions with legislative powers in the European Union, and notably increase the “political and legal status of these regions in all domains of EU governance”43. Not only is Scotland represented in these organisations but she has on occasion been at their forefront as was the case when Scotland’s First Minister Jack McConnell took over the presidency of RegLeg for one year in November 2003. Indeed his position as President of RegLeg allowed him to have a greater visibility on the European political stage, which in turn gave more weight to his declarations. Thus in a speech he delivered in Brussels at the European Policy Centre44 on 10 May 2004, he declared:

Scotland and Europe, Scotland in Europe

305

The regions aren’t simply making demands of the Union. Instead, we want to contribute constructively and be involved where a regional approach is the most appropriate and effective way to tackle issues of concern to us all.

Scotland also played a leading role in the creation of the Network of Regional Parliamentary European Committees (NORPEC) in 200345. NORPEC came into existence on the initiative of Scotland, Catalonia and Flanders, which intended to create a “forum for sharing ideas, experience on parliamentary procedure and best practice” with a view to exchanging parliamentary committee documents, views and ideas on policy issues46. Among the objectives set out by the founders of this new network operating within the constitutional regions and nations of Member States was the drafting of a document which was to be submitted to the Convention on the Future of Europe early in 200347. Finally, following a decision by the European Council in July 200448, new regional advisory bodies have been put in place as part of the reform of the Common Fisheries Policy, at the request of Member States and of the stakeholders themselves. The Regional Advisory Councils are part of the organisational structure of the Union. They are made up for two thirds of representatives of the fisheries sector, the last third being composed of people representing other interest groups concerned. Their task is to make recommendations and suggestions on issues concerning the fishing industry which are then transmitted to the national authorities and finally to the European Commission. The latter is under no legal obligation to follow these recommendations but it must however submit its official response within three months and explain its decisions regarding the proposals made by the RACs. It is interesting to note that the first such RAC, the North Sea Advisory Council, held its first General Assembly in Edinburgh on 4 November 2004, and that Scotland was strongly involved from the outset, with Aberdeenshire Council providing the Council secretariat49. In other words, Scotland is represented on a multiplicity of advisory bodies which in the end constitute a network of organisations operating alongside the official European institutions. Even though these organisations do not have direct access to the European decision-making process, they try to have some influence on the political decisions made in Brussels, and give the regions and nations with legislative powers which are not full Member States of the EU, the opportunity to make their voices heard within the official institutions of the EU. Thus throughout the debate on EU governance and the reform of the European institutions the constitutional regions and nations of the EU, like Scotland, have submitted opinions either to the European Commission or to the Convention on the Future of Europe. The former has indeed accepted several of the suggestions on governance presented by the CoR, such as instituting a permanent dialogue between the Commission and the local or regional authorities, or granting the

306

Is Scotland at a Crossroads in view of European Integration ?

CoR the right to go before the European Court of Justice in the case of a breach of the subsidiarity principle. The CoR and RegLeg have also submitted many opinions to the Convention on the Future of Europe. Indeed the cooperation between the Convention and the organisations representing the European regions and local authorities led to a working session on 30 January 2003 between the Contact Group of Regional and Local Authorities of the Convention on the one hand, and the CoR, the Assembly of European Regions, the Conference of European Regional Legislative Assemblies (CALRE), the Conference of Peripheral and Maritime Regions of Europe, the Congress of Local and Regional Authorities of Europe and RegLeg, on the other hand. It seems therefore that we are witnessing here an instance of the process described by Michael Keating as “paradiplomacy”50 that is to say that networks of organisations which operate alongside the official institutional network are being put in place, and they represent the interests of their members, in this case the regions, before the official governmental bodies, i.e the central European institutions. Keating explains that the regions and nations with legislative powers in Europe have organised themselves into transnational networks without trying to compete with the “high diplomacy” of the nation-state. These organisations do not constitute strictly speaking a third level of governance between the European institutions and the Member States, but they have created a new political space, perhaps even several spaces, in which the actors of the subnational political scene operate. Keating argues that the multiplicity of such organisations itself is evidence of the fact that the political actors of the subnational institutions of governance explore different strategies in Europe depending on the interests at stake. Following the long debate on the future of Europe and on the reforms of EU institutions required to ensure good governance, do the regions and nations with legislative powers have reason to be satisfied with the provisions contained in the Treaty establishing a Constitution for Europe? They can first of all be satisfied with the fact that the regional and local levels of governance are explicitly mentioned in Article I-5 of the Treaty: The Union shall respect the equality of Member States before the constitution as well as their national identities, inherent in their fundamental structures, political and constitutional, inclusive of regional and local self-government.

Furthermore, Article 2 of the Protocol on the Application of the Principles of Subsidiarity and Proportionality, annexed to the Treaty, provides that the European Commission must put in place consultations before proposing legislation and that the consultation process will take account, where appropriate, of the regional and local dimension of the policy proposed. Lastly, the Protocol provides that within a period of six weeks after the transmission of

Scotland and Europe, Scotland in Europe

307

the draft EU legislation the parliaments of the Member States will be entitled to submit an opinion on the legislation initiated by the Commission if they are not satisfied that the law complies with the principle of subsidiarity, and it will be up to each national Parliament to decide whether it is appropriate to consult the regional parliaments (Article 6).

Conclusion The crisis between European institutions and EU citizens and the difficulties, sometimes even the failure, on the part of the Member States, to convince their nationals that the reforms proposed by the recent constitutional treaty were legitimate, may open up new prospects for the European regions in future, and in particular for the regions/nations with legislative powers. The latter could indeed take advantage of the fact that their devolved institutions are closer to their citizens to engage in an in-depth debate on the future of Europe and help make their fellow citizens accept the reforms designed in Brussels. The initiative taken by the European Committee of the Scottish Parliament which organised a public debate in the Scottish Parliament building on the future of Europe on 16 September 2002 is one instance of the contribution that the constitutional regions/nations of Europe can make. The “Scottish Parliamentary Convention on the Future of Europe”, as it was called, was indeed aimed at enabling not just politicians representing all the levels of governance of Scotland but also representatives of Scotland’s civil society, and indeed members of the public at large, to express their views and voice their concerns on the subject. Lastly, in an enlarged European Union with 25 Member States, where the capacity of each Member State to impact on the decision-making process is “diminished”, the parallel network of advisory bodies may represent an excellent opportunity for the constitutional regions/nations to “invite themselves” so to speak, though indirectly, to the negotiating table. Furthermore the Treaty establishing a Constitution for Europe provides, unless it is amended in the future, that in the long term the number of European Commissioners will not exceed two thirds of the number of Member States, and that they will be selected among the Member States according to a system of rotation (Art.I-26). In other words, should Scotland become an independent state and a full member of the European Union, she could not rely on a permanent seat on the Commission. Besides, she would no longer be entitled to be represented in the organisations reserved for the regions of Europe.

308

Is Scotland at a Crossroads in view of European Integration ?

References Aldecoa, Francisco, and Michael Keating. Paradiplomacy in Action–The Foreign Relations of Subnational Governments. London: Frank Cass, 1999. Bachtler, John, Fiona Wishdale, and Douglas Yuill. “Regional Policies after 2006: Complementarity or Conflict?”. University of Strathclyde, European Policy Research Paper, no. 50, September 2003. Burrows, Noreen, Catriona Carter, and Andrew Scott. “Subsidiarity and the Draft Treaty,” Sub Rosa Discussion, Scottish Executive EU Office, Brussels, 27 April 2004. Castric, Olivier. Quels Partenariats pour les régions de l’Union Européenne?.Rennes: Editions Apogée, 2002. Commission of the European Communities. Dialogue with associations of regional and local authorities on the formulation of European Union policy. COM(2003) 811 final, 19 December 2003. —. European Governance – A White Paper. COM(2001) 428 final, 25 July 2001. Committee of the Regions. The Committee of the Regions’ political priorities. ISBN 92-895-0138-3, 2002. —. More democracy, transparency and efficiency in the European Union. Opinion, CONST-007, 21 November 2002. —. Opinion of the Committee of the Regions of 2 July 2003 on the Follow-up to the White Paper on European Governance. CONST-013, 10 July 2003. —. Declaration of the Committee of the Regions addressed to the European Council on the Constitutional Process of the Union. CdR 77/2004 fin FR/PM/ss, 23 March 2004. European Commission, Committee of the Regions. Joint Declaration of the President of the European Commission and the President of the Committee of the Regions. DI CdR 81/2001 rev.2 FR/OU/ss. European Commission. 23rd Report on the Action taken on the Opinions delivered by the Committee of the Regions. February, April and July 2003. European Committee. Report on the Governance of the European Union and the Future of Europe : What Role for Scotland?. 9th report 2001, SP Paper 466, The Scottish Parliament, Edinburgh, 11 December 2001. —. An Inquiry into Scotland’s Representation in the European Union. 5th report 2002, SP Paper 676, The Scottish Parliament, Edinburgh, 21 November 2002. —. Report on the Future of Europe. 6th report 2002, SP Paper 705, The Scottish Parliament, Edinburgh, 4 December 2002.

Scotland and Europe, Scotland in Europe

309

—. Executive’s Response to Committee’s 5th Report 2002 on Scotland Representation in Brussels. Briefing Paper, The Scottish Parliament, Edinburgh, EU/03/3/1, 11 February 2003. European Convention. Report on National Debate on the Future of EuropeUnited Kingdom. CONV 111/02, 18 June 2002. —. Subsidiarity, Common Sense, and Local Knowledge. Contribution by Mr Neil MacCormick, alternate member of the Convention, CONV 275/02, 18 September 2002. —. Democracy at many Levels : European Constitutional Reform. Contribution by Mr Neil MacCormick, alternate member of the Convention, CONV 298/02, 24 September 2002. —. The Role of the Regions with the Legislative Power in the EU. CONV 321/02, 7 October 2002. —. The Regional and Local Dimension in Europe. CONV 518/03, 29 January 2003. —. Summary of discussions in the Contact Group of Regional and Local Authorities. CONV 523/03, 31 January 2003. —. Stateless Nations and the Convention’s Debate on Regions. Contribution by Mr Neil MacCormick, alternate member of the Convention, CONV 525/03, 31 January 2003. —. Europe and the Regions. Contribution by Peter Hain, member of the Convention, CONTRIB 221, CONV 526/03, 3 February 2003. —. Territorial Cohesion. Text transmitted by the six Observers of the Committee of the Regions to the Convention, CONV 754/03, 22 May 2003. Keating, Michael. Plurinational Democracy – Stateless Nations in a PostSovereignty Era. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2001. Laeken Declaration. 15 December 2001, http://europa.eu/constitution/futurum.documents/offtext/doc151201_en.htm. McConnell, Jack. Speech delivered in Brussels on 6 June 2002, . Memorandum of Understanding and Supplementary Agreements. SE/2002/54, January 2002. North Sea Regional Advisory Council. Report of the NSRAC First General Assembly. Edinburgh, 4 November 2004. Protocol on the Application of the Principles of Subsidiarity and Proportionality. Official Journal of the European Union, C310/207, 16 December 2004. Scottish Executive. Response to the European’s Committee’s Report on the Future of Europe. 6th report 2002, 30 January 2003. Scottish Executive EU Office. Annual Report for 2004-2005. —. UK Presidency of the EU, July-December 2005 – Forward Look. July 2005. Scottish National Party. Vote for Scotland. European Manifesto 2004.

310

Is Scotland at a Crossroads in view of European Integration ?

Scottish Parliament. “Debate on Europe,” Official Report, col.643-714, 12 June 2003. —. “Debate on the European Constitution,” Official Report, col.2039-2068, 25 September 2003. —. “Debate on European Parliament (Number of seats),” Official Report, col.3954-3963, 4 December 2003. —. “Debate on European Enlargement”, Official Report, col.7541-7580, 21 April 2004. —. “Debate on the European Union Constitution,” Official Report, col.78657922, 29 April 2004. Treaty establishing a Constitution for Europe, Official Journal of the European Union, C310 volume 47, 16.

Notes 1

Scottish National Party. Vote for Scotland. European manifesto 2004. Declaration 23 on the future of the Union. Official Journal Of the European Communities, C 80, 10 March 2001, 85. 3 Commission of the European Communities. European Governance-A White Paper. COM(2001) 428 final, 25 July 2001. 4 The proportion in 2002 was 56.3%. See the report submitted to the Convention on the Future of Europe entitled “The Role of the regions with the legislative power in the EU”, CONV 321/02, 7 October 2002, 2. 5 Keating, Michael. Plurinational Democracy – Stateless Nations in a Post-Sovereignty Era. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2001, 27-28. 6 Regions endowed with specific powers enshrined in the constitutions of their Member States. 7 “The traditional institutional architecture is built on the interaction between the nation state and the European Union. This does not take into account the move towards multilevel governance, whereby the traditional government structure is gradually giving way to ‘multi-layered systems of governance’.” Political Declaration by the constitutional regions of Bavaria, Catalonia, North-Rhine Westphalia, Salzburg, Scotland, Wallonia and Flanders, 28 May 2001. 8 European Committee. Report on the Governance of the European Union and the Future of Europe : What Role for Scotland?. 9th report 2001, SP Paper 466, The Scottish Parliament, Edinburgh, 11 December 2001. 9 Scotland Act 1998, chapter 46, Schedule 5. 10 TEU, Article 203(1). 11 TEU, Article 198A. 12 The Scottish Executive was thus represented at around 10% of all Council meetings between 1999 and 2001. 13 SE/2002/54, January 2002. 2

Scotland and Europe, Scotland in Europe

14

311

The other 20 seats are allocated as follows: 16 for England, 2 for Wales and 2 for Northern Ireland. The total number of seats in the Committee is 317. 15 Indeed their number of representatives has remained unchanged post enlargement. 16 The areas listed in the Maastricht Treaty on European Union were the following: social and economic cohesion, trans-European infrastructure networks, health, education and culture. Under the Treaty of Amsterdam five new areas were added, namely, employment policy, social policy, the environment, lifelong training and transport. 17 RegLeg gathers 73 regions or nations with legislative powers. 18 Five of these delegates were indeed representatives of regions with legislative powers. 19 Jack McConnell is a member of the CoR, appointed by the Scottish Executive. The report was commissioned by the Commission for Constitutional Affairs and European Governance of the Committee of the Regions. 20 Speech delivered in Brussels on 9 July 2002. 21 The other two principles in the list were effectiveness and coherence. Commission of the European Communities. European Governance – A White Paper. COM(2001) 428 final, 25 July 2001, 10. 22 Speech delivered in Brussels on 6 June 2002. 23 Ibid. 24 The standing orders of the Scottish Parliament require that eight mandatory committees be established, while the Parliament can also choose to set up “subject committees” that it thinks are necessary to look at a specific subject or area. At the start of the second session in 2003 eight such committees were created. 25 European Committee. An Inquiry into Scotland’s Representation in the European Union. 5th report 2002, SP Paper 676, The Scottish Parliament, Edinburgh, 9. 26 “[…] the more Scotland is involved in the widest sense with networking, alliance, alliance building etc., the more its interests and those of the UK can be realised.” European Committee. An Inquiry into Scotland’s Representation in the European Union. 5th report 2002, SP Paper 676, The Scottish Parliament, Edinburgh, 7. 27 The Scottish Parliament actually set up an office in Brussels, in Scotland House, in September 2005. Ian Duncan is currently holding the post of Scottish Parliament Brussels officer. 28 European Committee. An Inquiry into Scotland’s Representation in the European Union. 5th report 2002, SP Paper 676, The Scottish Parliament, Edinburgh, 27. 29 European Committee. Report on the Future of Europe. 6th report 2002, SP Paper 705, The Scottish Parliament, Edinburgh, 6. 30 Ibid., 10. 31 Ibid., 8. 32 A first debate on the issue, also initiated by the Scottish National Party, had already taken place on 12 June 2003, that is to say just before the Convention on the Future of Europe unveiled its draft treaty. 33 European Committee. Report on the Governance of the European Union and the Future of Europe : What Role for Scotland?. 9th report 2001, SP Paper 466, The Scottish Parliament, Edinburgh, 9. 34 Scottish Executive EU Office. UK Presidency of the EU, July-December 2005 – Forward Look. July 2005, 4.

312

35

Is Scotland at a Crossroads in view of European Integration ?

Ibid., 5. See for example the presentation made by Jack McConnell to the Commission for Constitutional Affairs and European Governance of the Committee of the Regions, quoted above page 5. 37 Some of these organisations are not limited in their membership to the geopolitical frontiers of the European Union. 38 The Assembly of the Regions today gathers 250 regions from around 30 European States. 39 See the website of the AER at . 40 The Congress of Local and Regional Authorities of Europe was set up in 1994, and sees itself as the right hand of the European Council at the local and regional levels, responsible for the implementation of democracy at the local and regional levels of governance. 41 The Conference of Peripheral and Maritime Regions of Europe was set up in SaintMalo in 1973; 149 regions from 27 States, either inside or outside the European Union, have joined the organisation. 42 CALRE represents 74 regions from 8 EU Member States. 43 See the website of RegLeg at . Over 70 regions in the EU have directly elected parliaments and governments. 44 The European Policy Centre in Brussels is an independent think-tank which hosts conferences and seminars aimed at promoting discussion and reflection on topical European issues. 45 The first official meeting of NORPEC took place in Barcelona on 9 March 2004. 46 Extracts from the leaflet published by NORPEC and available on the Scottish Parliament website at the following address: . 47 The document was indeed presented to the Convention on 5 February 2003. I48 Council Decision establishing Regional Advisory Councils under the Common Fisheries Policy. 2004/585/EC, 18 July 2004. 49 The North Sea Advisory has indeed been consulted by the Commission on management measures for North Sea plaice and for sole. 50 Keating, Michael. op.cit., 154. 36

CONTRIBUTORS

Marion AMBLARD is a researcher in British studies at the Stendhal University in Grenoble. Christian AUER is a senior lecturer in British studies at March Bloch University in Strasbourg. Carine BERBERI is a senior lecturer in British studies at the University of Montpellier 1. Danièle BERTON-CHARRIERE is Professor of British studies at the University of Clermont-Ferrand. Jean BERTON is a senior lecturer in British studies at the University of SaintEtienne. Philippe BRILLET is a researcher in social studies at the University of the Mediterranean. Edwige CAMP is a senior lecturer in British studies at the University of Valenciennes. Nathalie DUCLOS is a senior lecturer in British studies at the University of Toulouse Le Mirail. William FINDLAY is Professor of British Studies at the University of Tours. Ingrid Mosquera GENDE is a lecturer in British literature at the University of A Coruña. Elizabeth GIBSON is a lecturer in British Studies at Montesquieu University in Bordeaux. Lesley GRAHAM is a senior lecturer in British studies at the University of Bordeaux 2.

314

Contributors

Sabrina JUILLET-GARZON is a researcher in British studies at the University of Versailles-St Quentin. Innes KENNEDY is a senior lecturer in literature and cultural studies at the University of the Highlands & Islands, Millenium Institute. Philippe LAPLACE is a senior lecturer in British literature at the University of Besançon. David LEISHMAN is a senior lecturer in British studies at Stendhal University, Grenoble. Gilles LEYDIER is Professor of British Studies at the University of Toulon. David Clark MITCHELL is a lecturer in British literature at the University of A Coruña. Steve MURDOCH is a reader in history at the University of St Andrews. Jacques RABIN is a senior lecturer in Britsh studies at the University of Rennes2. Bernard SELLIN is Professor of British literature at the University of Nantes. Jean-Pierre SIMARD is Professor of British studies at the University of SaintEtienne. Michael TATHAM is a researcher in European politics at the University of Oxford. Annie THIEC is a senior lecturer in British studies at the University of Nantes. John R.YOUNG is a senior lecturer in history at the University of Strathclyde.